THIS IS 40 Review

Judd Apatow needs to learn to not be afraid of the editing room. Like his "Funny People," his latest personal project is a loose, meandering, messy and bit of an amorphous blob of a comedy. But it's also searing in its honest look at married life, dealing with parents, raising kids, getting older and maintaining a companionship that lasts. And if it takes his sloppy, imperfect style -- rolling, spontaneous, free-flowing improvisational riffs and scenes that sometimes are directionless -- to present us these truths he seeks, then so be it. It's worth it, and "This Is 40" is worth it. No other tighter Hollywood comedies today could squeeze so much out of its characters and show audiences what it's really like and take the risk of swapping out laughs for realness.

I was uncomfortable at first with how much a comedy was making me squirm. There are a lot of fights, a lot of arguments, and I thought to myself, "Well, this isn't very funny." But that's what makes Apatow brave as a filmmaker. He started back with 2007's "Knocked Up" re-envisioning what a comedy could do. He created his own sub-genre of comedy that was mimicked for years; that is until "Bridesmaids" set another new standard. And with this sort-of sequel to "Knocked Up," Apatow has done it again. He's given us a comedy that makes us look at the harsher realities of married life, of hitting that over-the-hill. It's not always pretty, that's for sure, with a lot of the gross-out comedy actually coming from droll everyday moments like having Pete (Paul Rudd) thrusting his legs in the air and wanting Debbie (Leslie Mann) to check for hemorrhoids.

Pete and Debbie we supporting characters, and we saw their marriage was less than perfect. Now, at the center, their marriage is dead in the water. They attempt to explain and negotiate to each other in therapy terms as their counseling has taught them, but they still sound like they want to kill each other. Pete's form of escape is hiding away in the bathroom sitting on the toilet to play Scrabble on his tablet. Debbie becomes obsessed with trying to make changes to the family dynamic: more healthy eating, and less Internet for the kids (played by Apatow and Mann's real life daughters, Maude and Iris get plenty of fun material to play with -- best is the older daughter's obsession with finding out how "Lost" ends).

While trying to be the best parents they can, Pete and Debbie have parent troubles of their own. Pete's dad, Larry (Albert Brooks), is too present in his life always asking for money to help support his younger wife and blonde triplet boys he can't tell apart. Brooks is a comedic cannon and scene-stealer in the fatherly role. Debbie's dad, Oliver (John Lithgow), is on the other end of the spectrum -- not present at all to the point of meeting his granddaughters for the first time. All of their drama comes to a head at a birthday bash where Apatow's loose narrative really packs its punch.

Aside from that, however, the crux of Pete and Debbie's issues stem from their financial problems. But they also live in the likes of Brentwood, Calif. which means they're actually still pretty well-off. It's hard to pity them when you're listening about Debbie's thrift store not breaking even as her hot employee played by Megan Fox might be stealing, or watching as Pete's record label flounders because he's signing has-been groups like Graham Parker (who plays a version of himself in the movie). Aside from the welcomed addition of "Girls" players Lena Dunham and Chris O'Dowd as employees of Pete's, this side of the movie -- which unfortunately takes up a large portion -- just feels like the grumbling of rich people problems.

The laughs are mostly hit-or-miss from all the movie's improvising, but one moment where Pete and Debbie get tangled in the politics of their daughters' school is an absolute knock-out from Melissa McCarthy. She plays a disgruntled mother, Catherine, who has an outrageous, mean-spirited, curse-filled tirade to why Pete and Debbie are horrible people; that is, however, after Debbie just got done unnecessarily yelling at Catherine's son in a moment of parental protection and vulnerability that perfectly captures Mann's character. She's the acting stand-out as a woman, wife and mother who's aggravating, kind, brash, sexy and insecure all in one, and she makes her Debbie breathable, living and oh so true.

Archive: "Knocked Up" (2007)

The guy who brought us "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" is back again, this time tackling pregnancy. Writer-director Judd Apatow is the master of comedy with his latest outing, "Knocked Up," a nearly flawless movie that even surpasses Apatow's previous work. With the same mix of sentimentality and raunchiness, we are given an era-defining comedy that is current, genuine, and downright hilarious. It's really something you have to see to believe. This is hands-down the best comedy of the year, and also one of the best movies of the year.

The premise is simple: A shlub hooks up with a successful woman in a bar, they have some drunken sex, the woman gets pregnant, and the shlub does the best he can to help out. This slacker is a guy named Ben (Seth Rogen) who is unemployed, sits around with his stoner buddies, smokes pot, and really has no intention of doing much else. The woman is a career-oriented beauty named Alison (Katherine Heigl) who just got a big promotion at her interviewing job at the E! studio. To celebrate, she goes to a bar and that's when the hook-up happens. Ben and Alison have their little fling, have an awkward conversation over breakfast the next morning, and never really hear from each other again. That is, until eight weeks later.

What's so darling is that these two are not right for each other in every sense. And yet, their growing relationship has a sincere sweetness to it that is undeniable. They are not romantic and are not living some planned-out life together, and you can see the ending to their story from the start, but every single scene getting there is worth it. A sex scene, for example, where Ben nearly faints because he can't stand the idea that his penis might be poking the baby in the face is gut-bustingly hilarious and ridiculous.

Seth Rogen--who acted alongside Steve Carell in "Virgin"--lights up the screen with his infectious down-to-earth demeanor. He cracks crude one-liners like they're nothing, and he's fresh, funny, good-spirited, and self-deprecating. Katherine Heigl from "Grey's Anatomy" is just as lovely here, bringing the same widespread emotions she presents on television. She's hormonal, enraged, and also sympathetic and kind. The two of these actors together makes for great chemistry.

Throughout the movie, we also get quality doses of Alison's married sister, Debbie (Leslie Mann), and her restless husband, Pete (Paul Rudd). Here are two other actors with spot-on comic timing. Their characters in the movie don't exactly provide something for Alison and Ben to necessarily look up to. Their marriage is, as Pete describes, an unfunny version of "Everybody Loves Raymond" that lasts forever, and it provides an example of the behavioral observation that Apatow uses as his comedic fodder. There are lengthy scenes of not only them, but also Ben and Alison, simply arguing with each other. It feels real and like actual arguments because neither side really wins; that's life. The F-word goes flying every other word, and it's totally acceptable because it's used tastefully even in excess. Apatow's trademark mix of the profane and the sentimental is what makes all of the characters, even all of Ben's slacker buddies, feel like real people.

So yeah, Judd Apatow really knows what's up. He knows how to make it feel real, current, and knows how to deliver the laughs. There are even numerous cameos including one from E!'s very own Ryan Seacrest, who dishes out a hysterical tyrant with words you thought you would never hear him say. Many other pop culture references are abound, too, including humorous references to "Spider-Man 3," and even a bash at "Lost"'s Matthew Fox where Ben says something about him we've all already been thinking.

There are boobs, there are the geeks who love the boobs, but there are also the owners of the boobs who have a cry together and try to get into clubs. And then there are the pregnancy tests, the gynecologists, the baby books, and, yes, even a crowning shot. It's all there and accounted for, and somehow ingeniously blended together into one perfect comedy gem. It's in this way that I guess you could call this a romantic comedy for both sexes. It's raunchy enough for the guys and also heartwarming enough for the ladies. But, that's like calling this just one great date movie, and that's not all what "Knocked Up" is. It's a comedy for everyone and a movie about life and the crap life can toss at us and how to deal with the crap and grow from it, and learn from it, and simply mature as adults the very best anybody can.

It's this stuff that makes "Knocked Up" such a breath of fresh air. It's a comedy with a big heart that's in the right place, and it always knows when to be profane and when to be sweet. Everything here is delivered with such sincerity and cheer that you can't help but smile and, of course, laugh your ass off the entire time. It is great fun, it made me happy, and I loved every minute of it.

Archive: "Superbad" (2007)

Thank goodness for guys like Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, and now director Greg Mottola. I don't know what the world of comedy would do without them as they keep dishing out one hilarious movie after another. Thanks to them, we have truly great comedies such as "Superbad," a raunchy riot of a teen sex comedy for the new generation. The movie's opening has the look and sound of something from the 70s, but as the movie begins, you immediately realize that it takes place in the present. The naughty one-liners are so quick and current that you may find yourself doubling back to something said and realize just how damn clever it was. This, along with the flawless formula of realistic dialogue and genuine characters makes "Superbad" another winner from a comedic tag team who's impossible to beat right now.

Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) have been best friends through all of high school primarily because they aren't cool enough for anybody else, but they are a perfect match for each other because they are equally uncool. Seth is loud-mouthed and chubby, and Evan is thin and unbelievably awkward. They also have a buddy named Fogell who is so uncool that he's a nerd even to them. Their senior year is only weeks away from being over, and they realize that it's either now or never to get laid. Evan tells Seth that everybody just has sex in college, but Seth reasons that they must have experience before then. The way he explains it, though, is about a hundred times more amusing. However preoccupied they are with this goal, the real problem facing them is that they each got into a different college and the resulting separation anxiety that comes along.

The movie follows the misadventures of these three friends throughout a 24-hour period. Everything that could go wrong pretty much does, and it all happens in the most ridiculous and unpredictable ways possible. One day at school, Seth is unexpectedly invited to a party by a girl he's had his eye on, and Evan decides he'll go, too, to impress the girl he likes. Fogell just got a fake ID as a 25-year-old Hawaiian organ donor simply named "McLovin." (This one thing is what the movie will forever be known for as it is already being quoted, and T-shirts with the phrase "I am McLovin" on them are probably already in production.) Thanks to Fogell's new ID, Seth is given the job of providing all the drinks for the party. From one trip to a liquor store, things start getting progressively more bizarre and outrageous. I admire the movie's ability to completely disregard an actual plot and yet still move along with one gut-busting one-liner right after another. Every incident collides with the other in a long string of non-stop laughs and giddiness.

The movie is also shockingly crude and foul-mouthed. But, why wouldn't it be? I mean, just look at the age bracket here. These horny teens aren't going to be talking about sex with any tasteful sophistication, that's for sure. Jonah Hill, who co-starred next to Seth Rogen in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," and Michael Cera, who is in "Arrested Development," are excellently casted and have conversations that feel exactly how they should. Every other word is a swear word or an insult, and mentions of nipples, pussies, and erections are abound. The movie's crude behavior comes with a hint of truth in being so frank about young male obsessions. Seth and Evan aren't looking for a relationship; they hear about girls getting drunk and sleeping with the wrong guy, and they want to be that guy.

Then there are the two cops, played by Seth Rogen and Bill Hader, who take Fogell under their wing as their best buddy after the incident at the liquor store. The two of them are no more mature than the high schoolers that fill the rest of the screen. Strangely enough, though, it's actually these scenes which drag in the movie; that's surprising to be coming from a character played by Seth Rogen. It's really the teen party scene that rules the show where even the two girls of interest, played by Emma Stone and Martha MacIsaac, are fun and quirky on their own. All of the younger characters have honest emotion and we laugh at them, with them, and ultimately care about them.

The movie is probably inspired by the lives of Seth Rogen and his co-writer Evan Goldberg, as they both named the main characters after themselves. Not only that, it could also very well be based on the life of any teenager you come across. Like "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up," which preceded this comedic gem from Mottola, there's a certain realism and sincerity to be found here. This one is the most absurd of the bunch with the situations the characters find themselves in, but the reactions are still as real as ever. The movie has the same likability thanks to a smart script and good actors. It's a dirty, R-rated teen comedy with a heart, and when it comes down to it, it's about looking to the future, moving on, and growing up. "Superbad" is super good.

A Man Dying Of Laughter

Funny People


Although his name has been associated with many other great and not-so-great comedies, "Funny People" is the third film to be written and directed by Judd Apatow. Keep in mind, though, that this latest feature of his is certainly no "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" or "Knocked Up." He has departed from that adolescent raunchiness and has delved into the realm of something more dramatic. This is Apatow's most mature work yet, a very personal movie for him where he presents his own perspective on mortality, fame, life choices, and how comedy intersperses with it all. The real kicker is that underneath the surface of the ones who are meant to make us laugh there is anguish and bitterness, which is exactly what Apatow sets out to explore in this movie.

Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) is a struggling comedian who writes some good material for his stand-up act, and one night gets noticed by George Simmons (Adam Sandler), a comedian superstar. The star insists that Ira become his personal assistant and start writing material for him. And then George starts confiding in Ira, letting him on the inside, having him talk him to sleep, and then reveals to him that he only has a short time left to live. Seth Rogen, although Apatow won't openly admit it, is basically playing a young version of the director in the early days of his career. He plays Ira with sincere subtlety, and with a newly slimmed-down look (which the movie cleverly pokes fun at), he presents new dimensions we've yet to see him display.

And yet under the prowess of Adam Sandler, Rogen seems like a lost puppy. It is Sandler who steals the show proving yet again there's more to his acting with nuanced work that ranks among his oddball persona from "Punch-Drunk Love." As George, he taps into the anger and resentment that lies within him and brings it to the forefront with great results. George represents the burdens of the celebrity world as he accepts why he had to remove himself from other people. He has private jets, all the women he can get, a massive house, and an exuberant amount of material possessions, and yet he's isolated from everyone; the friends he has don't treat him like a real person. He's not only forced to struggle with his illness but also with the hermetically-sealed world of fame along with the illness. This is Sandler's best performance to date.

The movie provides an insider glimpse into the world of comedians and how they think and work. When they pitch ideas to one another, they never laugh at the jokes but rather just respond with, "That's funny." The stand-up sequences are really the core of the movie as Apatow shows us what's bad, what works, and what kind of material has potential. The unique thing about the humor in this movie is that we're laughing at things funny people are saying who already know that it's funny, and in that respect, the movie is overtly self-aware. It also slyly satirizes TV shows and formula comedies as Ira's roommates, Leo (Jonah Hill) and Mark (Jason Schwartzman, who also did the music), are both in a painfully bad sitcom called "Yo, Teach." Hill and Schwartzman play the competitive friends role perfectly. George's house is also filled with posters of his past movies such as "Mer-Man" and "My Best Friend is a Robot," in which George supposedly co-starred with Elizabeth Banks and Owen Wilson, respectively. There's also a moment where George discusses his shallow relationship with fellow celebrities, which leads to a hilarious sequence with Eminem and Ray Romano. As is the trademark with Apatow, the humor remains refreshingly current, and this time around, there are an impressive number of cameos, too.

But then comes the film's biggest drawback, and that's the girl who got away from George, Laura (Leslie Mann, as sweet as ever). An unnecessarily large portion of the second half of the movie spends time focusing on George's attempts at getting her back into his life. The problem is that she has a brute of an Aussie husband (Eric Bana showing some comedic flair) and a family of two daughters (adorably played by Apatow's real-life children). Here the movie drags and feels overlong, which emphasizes other portions of the movie that could've been trimmed. 146 minutes is a lot, especially for a comedy, and it gives the feel of something that is unfinished and unpolished. Although the length prevents things from ever getting formulaic, it also tends to ramble. As Apatow takes the risk of sending his work into a new direction, it definitely gets shaky and uneven at times. As much as the movie is about the maturation of Ira and George, it really is, at the heart of it all, about the maturation of Apatow as an affirmed talent.

A Third Apatow Outing

As much as Judd Apatow has had his name slapped on many other hilarious (and not so hilarious) features in the past year, his latest movie coming out this July, "Funny People," is the first feature fully written and directed by Apatow since "Knocked Up." I'm extra excited for it. After watching the trailer, I noticed three things:

1) When did Seth Rogen lose so much weight?
2) Why does it feel like the trailer is giving too much away?
3) Unless the trailer is misleading, is this Apatow's cleanest and most touching movie yet?