Judd Apatow

WARNING: *SPOILERS for FUNNY PEOPLE*

I love Judd Apatow's work. 40-Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up? Loved them both dearly. In terms of what he's produced? Pineapple Express, Step Brothers, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Walk Hard, Superbad, Talladega Nights, Kicking and Screaming, Ron Burgundy, the Cable Guy, Celtic Pride (I enjoyed it), Freaks and Geeks...

Either way, I'm a big Judd Apatow fan. Needless to say, I was pretty damned excited for Funny People. Adam Sandler can be a phenomenal dramatic actor, as apparent by Punch-Drunk Love. The usual strong Apatow cast is in this...Leslie Mann, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen...and the awesomeness that is Eric Bana. Not to mention all the surprise cameos scattered throughout the film.

I wanted to love this film. I'm sure I'll buy it when it comes out on DVD. But dammit, this disappointed me. And I'm in the midst of trying to figure out why.

The first half of the movie deals with Adam Sandler trying to come to grips with his death. The second half is a love story. They feel like two separate movies. I get that Point A leads to Point B, but it feels too far apart. The first half of the movie, he realizes what an asshole he's been all his life, and reconciles with his family, friends, etc. And he wants to reconcile with the love of his life. And what happens after that? He goes right back to being an asshole. So when the movie ends with him changing again, it feels like a retread of what already happened in the movie.

Jason Schwartzman, Jonah Hill, and Aubrey Plaza are all prominently featured in the first half of the film. So is Seth Rogen. By the time the second half rolls around, the first three are gone, and Seth Rogen takes a huge backseat. At first, it works, because he's the outside observer noticing things from an outsider's perspective. It just carries on too long and he fades into the background after being such a huge part of the film. The Jonah Hill-Seth Rogen fight also is incredibly unnecessary, and seems to only be added for heightened tension.

Maybe I didn't enjoy it much because a lot of the material hits too close to him. And yeah, it was very funny. There were a lot of moments that had me rolling. And as two separate movies, they both worked very well. But as a larger part of the picture, it didn't do it as much as I hoped for me.

I want to watch it again to reassess my evaluation, but I had to blog for the time being to help myself understand my thoughts on the film.

The two greatest North American performers today.

There's little question about it: Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho had the feud of 2008. Nothing could match the intensity both men dug down deep to find to promote this feud. The match of the year for the WWE was their big ladder match at No Mercy as well, where they hit every move on all cylinders. They haven't had a match that good since Wrestlemania 19.

But that's what saddens me. The two had a contest at Judgment Day 2008. It didn't begin their feud like Wrestlemania 19, and it didn't have the back story that No Mercy 2008 had, so it's largely overlooked. But my God, it's such a brilliantly booked match.

Every single time Shawn goes for a trademark move, Jericho counters. And vice versa. That's how well they know each other. It was a pure wrestling contest to see who the better wrestler is. Springboard Dropkick? Nope. Flying Elbow Drop? Nope. Lionsault? Countered. Sweet Chin Music? Not in the traditional sense. The match doesn't even end with a definitive move, it's just one man being better for three seconds. But make no mistake about it, this match is littered with greatness and deserves to be seen.

And how does it end? An actual handshake, because this time, it was about seeing who the better wrestler was that night. And both men came out looking like winners.