Judd Apatow is the king of comedy in America at the moment. He has had a huge amount of success, with films he has produced, written and directed. This is his third film as director.
I just don’t get it. Judging by the success he has had I think I’m one of the few people who don’t like Judd Apatow. I think he is highly over rated. I don’t want to say he is a bad director, I just think he is undisciplined. The man just doesn’t know when to say stop. Too many of his films and not just the ones he has directed, are far too long. I didn’t mind it so much in ‘The 40 Year-Old Virgin’ as that managed to come in under 2 hours, but ‘Knocked Up’ and this film were ruined for me because they go on for too long. As a rule in general comedies should go for the shortest time possible, mostly 90 minutes. I will admit that there are exceptions to that rule, but you have to have a story or content worthy of going the extra time. So going into this film I was not expecting to like it and the film did not do anything to make me like it. I will admit there are some funny moments and some of the attempt at drama work well but as a whole the film needed better editing. Especially in the second half of the film which really dragged for me. Judd likes to have his actors improvise scenes but in some instances, like in this film, it makes the story seem aimless.
I always admire actors who are mostly known for comedy who branch out into drama. Adam Sandler is one who has done it on a few occasions, I think, successfully. This film is one that bridges the gap where he is asked to be funny and dramatic and I think he does a good job. There are some very touching moments in the film that Adam handles well. Seth Rogan is another comedian who handles the drama really well. He does not have too many funny moments, except when doing stand-up but he is quite good. Leslie Mann is an actress I have mixed feelings about. In most films she can be quite funny but not in an overwhelming way. Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman make a great comedic duo. The real highlight though was Eric Bana. I’ve been very disappointed that Eric has forgotten his Aussie comedy roots and only chosen to do drama in America. He has denied the Yanks his great comedic abilities. I mentioned before that the second half of the film really dragged, but is was helped made bearable by the brilliant performance of Eric. I hope this chance to do comedy will show him that he should do more of it.
I just don’t get it. Judging by the success he has had I think I’m one of the few people who don’t like Judd Apatow. I think he is highly over rated. I don’t want to say he is a bad director, I just think he is undisciplined. The man just doesn’t know when to say stop. Too many of his films and not just the ones he has directed, are far too long. I didn’t mind it so much in ‘The 40 Year-Old Virgin’ as that managed to come in under 2 hours, but ‘Knocked Up’ and this film were ruined for me because they go on for too long. As a rule in general comedies should go for the shortest time possible, mostly 90 minutes. I will admit that there are exceptions to that rule, but you have to have a story or content worthy of going the extra time. So going into this film I was not expecting to like it and the film did not do anything to make me like it. I will admit there are some funny moments and some of the attempt at drama work well but as a whole the film needed better editing. Especially in the second half of the film which really dragged for me. Judd likes to have his actors improvise scenes but in some instances, like in this film, it makes the story seem aimless.
I always admire actors who are mostly known for comedy who branch out into drama. Adam Sandler is one who has done it on a few occasions, I think, successfully. This film is one that bridges the gap where he is asked to be funny and dramatic and I think he does a good job. There are some very touching moments in the film that Adam handles well. Seth Rogan is another comedian who handles the drama really well. He does not have too many funny moments, except when doing stand-up but he is quite good. Leslie Mann is an actress I have mixed feelings about. In most films she can be quite funny but not in an overwhelming way. Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman make a great comedic duo. The real highlight though was Eric Bana. I’ve been very disappointed that Eric has forgotten his Aussie comedy roots and only chosen to do drama in America. He has denied the Yanks his great comedic abilities. I mentioned before that the second half of the film really dragged, but is was helped made bearable by the brilliant performance of Eric. I hope this chance to do comedy will show him that he should do more of it.
In typical Apatow fashion this is a very long and mostly boring comedy with a hint of drama. I wish there was someone out there who could reign him in a bit and tell him to cut his films down as they could be quite great.
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