By Jeff Otto

Movie: Funny People

Synopsis: Fictional comic superstar George Simmons (Adam Sandler) learns he’s dying and realizes his fame has caused him to push away everyone he was once close to. He returns to the stand-up stage for the first time in years and meets an aspiring young comedian named Ira Wright (Seth Rogen). He hires Ira to write jokes and become his personal assistant. Along with his hired new best friend, Simmons starts to examine the shambles his life has become.

Stars: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jason Schwartzman

Written by: Judd Apatow

Directed by: Judd Apatow

Distributed by: Universal Pictures

ADAM SANDLER stars as George Simmons in writer/director Judd Apatow's third film behind the camera, "Funny People", the story of a famous comedian who has a near-death experience.

Opening on: July 31, 2009

EXPECTATIONS

What I’d Seen – In all honesty, I tried not to watch many of the trailers or TV spots. I love Judd Apatow’s work, so this was already a must-see for me. With such a great cast, my hopes were high.

What I’d Heard – Longtime pals Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow finally team up on the big screen. Like I said, I’m a big fan of Apatow. I like Sandler too, although he has the penchant to work with subpar material. Apatow’s sensibilities should be the perfect fit.

Writer/director/producer JUDD APATOW on the set of his third film behind the camera, "Funny People", the story of a famous comedian who has a near-death experience.

What I Wanted – Judd Apatow has been riding a hot streak for five years and everything he touches seems to turn to gold. You know his luck has to hit a snag at some point, but with this cast and a story based so much around the past experiences of Sandler and Apatow, how could this not work?

EXPERIENCE

What Turned Me On – No one balances the masks of comedy and drama better these days than Judd Apatow. While Kevin Smith has often spoken of abandoning the sophomoric in favor of more adult, personal material, his efforts in this area outside of Chasing Amy have been very spotty. He should study 40 Year-Old-Virgin, Knocked Up and now Funny People because Apatow has mastered the balance. No one has you laughing at inappropriate humor in one scene and holding back the tears in the next more seamlessly. Funny People is the most fully realized, layered work of Apatow’s career. He’s been called the King of Comedy, but that might be too limiting of a title.

(L to R) George (ADAM SANDLER) and Ira (SETH ROGEN) in writer/director Judd Apatow's third film behind the camera, "Funny People", the story of a famous comedian who has a near-death experience.

What Turned Me Off - At nearly two and a half hours, Funny People has a few scenes that run a little long, but I didn’t mind it much. As with any movie I really enjoy, I felt a closeness with the characters and didn’t mind more of their presence. I’m eager to see the plethora of cut material on the DVD.

AFTERMATH

I Left Thinking - Judd Apatow just keeps growing as a filmmaker and he’s setting the bar high for the comedy genre and the film genre at large. The old clichéd saying is that inside every comedian is a sad clown and no one proves this theory more adeptly than Apatow.

I Left Saying - Funny People is thought-provoking, entertaining and consistently amusing. A high recommendation and one of the best movies so far this year.

Expiry Date – In a year that has seen record setting box office for dreck like Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Transformers 2, Funny People must succeed if there is any justice in the world. For everyone who complains that there’s nothing original at the movies, here you are. Now don’t let me down. We need more movies like this, so see Funny People as soon as you can. You won’t be disappointed.

More Funny People

Funny People news, pictures, and videos on MovieSet.

Funny People Synopsis:

Over the past few years, writer/director Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up) has shown that nothing—not even losing your virginity or the miracle of childbirth—is sacred. About his third film behind the camera, he says, “I’m trying to make a very serious movie that is twice as funny as my other movies. Wish me luck!” Apatow directs Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Leslie Mann in Funny People, the story of a famous comedian who has a near-death experience. – In Theaters July 31st, 2009.

Funny People Trailer:

The Film Stars Jason Schwartzman , Seth Rogen , Eric Bana, Leslie Mann and Adam Sandler.

This trailer will also be showing in front of Bruno this weekend. We haven’t seen another actual trailer for this comedy since the first one debuted back in February. This is not a lot of new footage in this, which is perfectly fine, because I definitely would like to see the funniest moments in theaters and don’t want any of the film to be ruined.

I’ve still got a good feeling that this could be one of the most promising comedy’s this year, just because it seems to have that “Different” style of humor and some emotion that only someone like Judd Apatow can balance correctly. Definitely give this trailer a whirl. (Below)

The new uncensored trailer features some of Adam Sandler’s NSFW stand-up routine, more of an emphasis on Eric Bana’s character, Ira’s hilarious video game rant, a better look at Aubrey Plaza’s role in the story, and even a quick look at some of the film’s many cameos. But overall the trailer feels more PG-13 than R-rated, you be the judge.

Go to our Funny People Sitelet to check out some Movie Stills the rest of the Cast and Crew and hit up the latest Funny People Blog Post:

Funny People says Yo Teach! to Randy – Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen’s new Comedy

Watch the trailer embedded above, and as always, leave your thoughts in the comments below.