Title: Funny People - Official Trailer

Funny People is a 2009 American comedy-drama film, written, co-produced, and directed by Judd Apatow, and starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen as stand-up comedians. The film was released on July 31, 2009 in North America, and will be released on August 28, 2009 in the United Kingdom. Funny People implements more dramatic elements than seen in Apatow's previous films. The film was co-produced by Apatow Productions and Madison 23 Productions, a subsidiary of Sandler's company Happy Madison. Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures co-financed the film; Universal will serve as a worldwide distributor. Plot: George Simmons is a very successful yet self-involved stand-up comedian who has starred in a wide number of successful low brow comedies. Even though he has a large house, a lot of money and belongings, and many fans, he has no close friends and is disconnected from his family. During a medical check up, his doctor informs him that he has a very rare blood disorder which cannot be treated through surgery or chemotherapy. The doctor gives him an experimental medication which only has an eight percent chance of success. George goes into a depression and starts to reflect back on his life. He finds solace by watching old videos of his stand up routines and is inspired to go back to the clubs at which he used to perform. Meanwhile, Ira Wright (real last name Weiner) is an aspiring stand up comedian who works at a deli to make money while he struggles to make it in stand up comedy. He lives in an apartment with Leo Koenig, an aspiring stand up like Ira yet more successful, and Mark Taylor Jackson, the star of a sitcom called Yo Teach! who gloats to Ira and Leo about how much money he makes, while Ira and Leo point out how poor quality his show is. Ira has a crush on Daisy Danby, an aspiring female comic who lives nearby. Ira asks Daisy out on a date but later calls it off when he learns that she had slept with Mark not long after, as Mark had promised Ira he would do if Ira did not act. One night at the club where Ira, Leo, and Daisy perform, George shows up unexpectedly to perform and Ira, who was set to go on after Leo, is bumped. George gives a brief dark and depressing routine that doesn't go over well with the crowd. Ira's act isn't much more successful but gets some laughs from making fun of George's routine, while George watches. George then compliments Ira in the parking lot about his routine despite the insults and then drives off. The next morning, George calls Ira to tell him he is going to do stand up gigs and asks him and Leo if they would like to write jokes for him. Ira immediately agrees, but lies to George about Leo, telling him he's too busy. They go to a MySpace event where James Taylor is performing. George asks Ira to open for him but Ira didn't write jokes for himself so he borrows some of the ones he wrote for George. Both George and Ira are successful with their routines, however, and George hires Ira to be his joke writer and personal assistant, paying him $1,500 a week. George and Ira pick up two girls from the event and take them back to George's house to have sex with them. One of them quickly has sex with George, while the other rejects Ira stating she has a boyfriend. After the first girl leaves, the other girl ends up having sex with George anyway. When she leaves as well, George asks Ira to help talk him to sleep. The next morning, George informs Ira of his health condition and tells him he told him because he doesn't know Ira well enough. George tells Ira not to tell anyone else, but then Ira tells Leo and Mark. George and Ira work on their stand-up routines and Ira becomes more confident on stage, while Ira continues to endure George's selfish behavior and comfort George while he experiences the symptoms of his disease as well as the side effects of the medication. George goes in for an update on his sickness and the doctor takes a sample of his blood. Later at a restaurant, Ira breaks down in the middle of a restaurant in front of George, saying that George should tell more people other than him. George is initially reluctant, but ultimately agrees, speaking with comedians like Andy Dick and Paul Reiser and making amends with his estranged family. He also gets an unexpected visit from his ex-fiancé Laura, who broke it off after she learned George was cheating on her. Laura is now married to her husband of 12 years, an Australian salesman named Clarke who is often on business trips in China. They have two daughters, Mable and Ingrid. Laura reveals that Clarke, like George, has been cheating on her and that her life has been a wreck ever since she broke up with George. George apologizes for his past behavior. Ira invites George to have Thanksgiving with him, Leo, Mark, and the cast of Yo Teach! at his apartment. Leo confronts Ira after he learns from George that Ira lied to him about asking the both of them to write jokes for George, creating tension between the two of them. Leo later accepts a role on Yo Teach!. George goes to the doctor for the results of his test and he learns that the medicine has been working and that there aren't any traces of the disease in his blood, but there is a possibility that it could resurface. Ira is happy with the news, while George is unsure of what to do with his life. He ultimately decides that he wants a long-term relationship. He calls Laura, but is unable to tell her about his health. She invites him to visit her in Marin County. George and Ira go to San Fransisco to perform at the Orpheum, and Laura meets them there. George tells Ira to tell Laura that he's better during the intermission between Ira's act and George's act. Ira is puzzled as to why George didn't tell her already, but ultimately agrees to tell her himself. He does so, and Laura becomes speechless. She confronts George afterward, who tells her that he didn't tell her sooner because he didn't want to jinx it. He and Laura embrace and she invites the two to her house. George and Ira arrive and spend time with her and her daughters. George and Laura go out to get groceries while Ira watches the kids. George and Laura actually sneak into the guest house to have sex, where Laura talks about possibly leaving Clarke. The two go back into the main house and tell Ira they will just order pizza. Ira, however, easily finds out that they had sex and becomes worried. While waiting for the pizza to arrive, Clarke unexpectedly arrives home, leading to an awkward first encounter between George and Clarke and an awkward dinner. Laura asks George and Ira to keep up the façade of George still being sick as Clarke had despised George prior to learning of his illness and sympathized with him after learning of it and Clarke will suspect something if he learns George is better. George and Ira spend the night in the guest house and watch a game of Aussie Rules Football with Clarke, who is obsessed with it. In the morning, Clarke gives George a tearful goodbye, thinking he will die soon. Then, his daughters reveal that George is actually better, as Ira had told them earlier. Clarke then confronts Laura about this as he suspects she's cheating on him. Laura tries to explain that he may not be entirely better, but Clarke doesn't believe her. When Laura then calls him out on his infidelity, Clarke leaves the house. Laura tells George that she will meet with Clarke later to tell him to find a new place. Ira tells George that he thinks they should leave and that it's not worth it to break up a twelve year marriage so that George will be happy, but George yells at him and threatens to fire him. The next day, George, Ira, and Laura watch a video of Mable performing "Memory" from Cats which Ira and Laura find moving. George, however, finds it hilarious and checks his cell phone during the video, leaving Laura disturbed. Laura then leaves for the airport to talk to Clarke, planning to tell Clarke that, when he gets home from his trip, to find somewhere else to live. Ira tells George he's going to the store to buy cigarettes, but instead follows Laura to the airport. Laura meets up with Clarke, who tells her that he wants to give their marriage another try. Laura, now conflicted with her feelings, ultimately agrees and says her fling with George was just a flirtation. Ira catches their interaction and tries to sneak away, but Clarke catches him. Ira is forced to tell him that George is back at the house watching the kids and Clarke vows to kill him. Laura then berates Ira for entering her life and the three race back to the house. Clarke catches George watching TV with the kids and chases him outside and starts beating him. George then yells at Ira for lying to him and then asks Laura to tell Clarke she still loves George, but Laura sides with Clarke. Clarke then feels like it was his own fault this happened and apologizes to George. Laura and Clarke go back into the house and George and Ira head back to Los Angeles. George gets mad at Ira for betraying him and officially fires him as his assistant. Ira then berates George for not learning anything from his near-death experience and still being the same person he was before learning of his sickness. George drops Ira back at his apartment and the two part ways. Leo forgives Ira for lying to him and Mark offers Ira a part on Yo Teach! if one is offered, but Ira declines. Ira meets up with George again at a club not long after and George watches Ira, much more confident on stage, do a routine about his experience with George. The next day, George finds Ira working at the deli again and asks to speak with him. George admits that even though he is no longer sick, his attitude still needs much improvement. George offers Ira some jokes he wrote down to help Ira's act, proving that he is making an attempt to become a better person. [edit]Cast Adam Sandler as George Simmons Seth Rogen as Ira Wright Leslie Mann as Laura Eric Bana as Clarke Jonah Hill as Leo Koenig Jason Schwartzman as Mark Taylor Jackson Aubrey Plaza as Daisy Danby RZA as Chuck Aziz Ansari as Randy Springs Torsten Voges as Dr. Lars Dave Attell, Sarah Silverman, Norm Macdonald, Paul Reiser, Tom Anderson, and Andy Dick filmed cameo appearances as themselves, who are acquainted with George.[3] Rapper Eminem,[4] comedian Ray Romano, musician James Taylor,[5] MADtv member Nicole Parker,[6] and newcomer Bo Burnham[7] also appeared in small roles. Undeclared alum Carla Gallo had a cameo in the film as a character on Yo Teach!, the television show within the film that Mark stars in,[8] while Justin Long and Apatow regular Ken Jeong have cameos in the film as characters in movies within the film that George is famous for.[9] Owen Wilson and Elizabeth Banks are featured on posters for fake movies within the film that George starred in. Production Judd Apatow had expressed his desire to make a stand-up comedian mentor film loosely based on his own early experiences as a struggling performer. He could not come up with an interesting idea since most of his mentors were kind to him. He then thought of making a film about a mentor facing a life crisis, and decided to have his former roommate Adam Sandler play that role. The two of them discussed making the film almost two years prior to production.[11] Apatow had cast Sandler, Seth Rogen, and Leslie Mann as the three leads in March 2008.[12] Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, and Jason Schwartzman were later cast in June 2008 when the title of the film was announced. When asked about the decision to cast Bana, Apatow said that both he and Rogen are fans of his films as well as his sketch comedy work in his native Australia.[11] Rogen additionally commented they cast him as Leslie Mann's character's husband because he was someone who would be considered an intimidating presence to both Sandler and Rogen.[13] Bana mentioned that he decided to make his character an Australian so he could improvise more.[14] Academy Award-winning cinematographer Janusz Kamiński handled the cinematography for the film. Apatow had Sandler, Rogen, and Hill, who all play stand-ups in the film, write their own material for routines. Apatow filmed them performing their routines in front of live audiences, using six cameras to capture their performances and audience reactions. Apatow filmed their entire performances, although only five to ten minutes of stand-up footage appear in the film. Additionally, Apatow filmed scenes from Sandler's character's fictional filmography, as well as scenes from Schwartzman's character's fictional television show Yo Teach!, for the film to add realism.[15] Apatow used an old video of Sandler, from when the two were roommates, in which Sandler makes prank phone calls. [edit]Marketing The first teaser poster for the film was released November 13, 2008. On the day the teaser poster was released, Universal Pictures and MySpace partnered together to create a contest that would allow people to have a part in the film by just writing a comment explaining why. Additionally, Apatow held a stand-up comedy concert event called "A Night of Funny People" at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles to film a scene for the movie. The event was open to the general public and featured acts by Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Aziz Ansari, Sarah Silverman, David Spade, and Patton Oswalt, with Sandler, Rogen, and Ansari performing as their characters in the film. The first theatrical trailer for the film was released February 20, 2009 on the Internet, with a shortened version first appearing in theaters with I Love You, Man. A website for a fictional television show-within-a-film was created on NBC.com.[16] The sitcom, Yo Teach!, "stars" the film's egocentric character Mark Taylor Jackson (Jason Schwartzman), who is a C-list actor portraying a young teacher with a class of failing students, and includes a cameo by internet celebrity Bo Burnham.[17] A website for Aziz Ansari's character Randy Springs was created, along with a documentary of the character on FunnyOrDie.com. The documentary was directed by Jason Woliner. Comedy Central aired a special, "Inside Funny People" on July 20, documenting the making of the film and showing clips of the stand-up. The channel also aired "Funny People: Live" on Friday, July 24, which is a live broadcast stand-up of Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, and Jonah Hill as part of the film's promotion. [edit]Release [edit]Critical reception Funny People currently has a 65% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on the consensus that the film "features the requisite humor, as well as considerable emotional depth, resulting in Judd Apatow's most mature film to date."[18] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, gave the film a metascore of 60% out of 100 under the "Mixed or average reviews" category, based on 33 reviews.[19] Jeffrey Wells from Hollywood Elsewhere received feedback from sources who had seen a test screening, with one source calling it "really funny, a really sweet movie, a lot of veracity...really a brilliant film", comparing it to the works of James L. Brooks. The film has received generally positive to mixed reviews from critics. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film 3½ stars of four, writing in his review that the film is "a real movie. That means carefully written dialogue and carefully placed supporting performances — and it's about something. It could have easily been a formula film...but George Simmons learns and changes during his ordeal, and we empathize."[20] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone also praised the film, writing, "Apatow scores by crafting the film equivalent of a stand-up routine that encompasses the joy, pain, anger, loneliness and aching doubt that go into making an audience laugh." [21] Kyle Smith of the New York Post wrote that the film was "one of the most absorbing films of the year." [22] Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film one its mixed reviews, complaining of the film's two-and-a-half-hour running time: "Funny People is...an attempt by Apatow to reconcile the huge success he has become with the up-and-comer he once was. The results run an increasingly exasperating 2 1/2 hours."[23] Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News headlined his negative review by writing, "Judd Apatow's Funny People bombs like a bad stand-up routine.