Apatow standup movie to feature… comics

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on December 31st, 2008

SlashFilm says that Dave Attell, Andy Dick, Norm MacDonald and Sarah Silverman. have cameo roles in Judd Apatow’s “Funny People.”

Alex Billington of FirstShowing.net says that the movie “will be the ultimate stand-up comedian movie that may be a new comedy classic.” He/She is over the top in praising the picture. We wish we could be so optimistic. We are optimistic. We enjoyed both of Apatow’s movies. (And we enjoyed “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Superbad” as well.)

But we are not so sure that it will be regarded as a classic.

Sure, it’s got Apatow at the helm. And it’s got Adam Sandler starring. (Sandler can be appealing and likable and his movies often make lots of money. But the critics despise him– unless he’s in a dramatic role and that role happens to be in “Punch-Drunk Love.”) Perhaps the combination of Apatow script and Sandler’s onscreen appeal will make for a picture that has more heft than “Zohan” or “Little Nicky”

And we’ve detected a bit of Apatow fatigue among critics (amateur and pro) even though the man only directed two films. (Okay, he’s produced or written a dozen or so others, but have you ever seen anyone get so irate and crotchety at the producer of films? His wild success has bred an unusual amount of resentment and, in some cases, outright hostility.)

We suppose what we’re getting at is that, if the new movie is in any way a sympathetic portrayal of comedians, we predict it will be universally despised. (And even folks who like it will say they hate it, such is the power of movie critics, in print and on the web and the telly.)

It’s got a lot going for it. But those same elements are also going to work against it.

We’re prepared to be pleasantly surprised– by the movie itself and by the reaction of the public and the critics. But we ain’t holding our breath.

Let’s face it, the bar for a movie about standup comics isn’t set very high.

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