Funny People (2009)

Who ever would have thought Adam Sandler would end up playing the elder, established comedian in a film that shows him mentoring an up and coming comedian? Well, it’s coming, with Funny People.

With Click (2006) and a few other films, he’s shown that when he’s not trying too hard to aim for the lowest common denominator to get people to laugh (You Don’t Mess With The Zohan (2008)), he can actually be charming and downright funny. Funny People looks to be another of his films where he’s going to be charming, rather than obnoxious.

Seth Rogen seems an odd match for the charming Sandler, however, and will probably do his best to drag out the idiotic Sandler persona that has been showcased again and again in films like Little Nicky and The Waterboy. While viewers under 13 may enjoy the stupid bumblings of that Sandler, it seems more like a part of his past to the rest of us. Sandler has evolved his comedic stylings, and shouldn’t fall back on his old routines (want proof? Zohan. Need I say more?) .

Seth, on the other hand, has so far showed audiences that stupid comedy is about all he knows. He has glimmers where he seems to aspire to something more, but always falls back on comedic idiocy to help him get through his films. While that and his goofy looks may have gotten him onto the big screen, he’s going to have to stretch himself at some point if he’s going to keep viewer’s interest in the long run.

Maybe Funny People is the stretch into charming that Rogen needs. If so, Sandler should be able to provide some support, since he’s gone through the same transition himself. That may not be the case, and Funny People is just going to be some more unneeded comedy idiocy from Rogen and Sandler – but we can always hope, can’t we?