Funny People - Funny first half - tragic comedy second act  

Funny People is about stand-up comedian/actor George Simmons (Adam Sadler) who learns he is dying of leukaemia and, obviously not feeling that in the mood to be funny, enlists the help of struggling comedian Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) to help out with some of the material.

With plenty of soul-searching and wondering where his life went wrong Simmons and Wright's exploits may not seem like the ideal source for a comedy movie. As with other Judd Apatow movies, it's quite long (over two hours). The first half manages to be pretty funny - helped along with various scenes of stand-up comedy and allowing the performers to be funny.

However, the second half takes a more darker tone (cue the inclusion of Eric Bana). There's nothing wrong with this change, but, if you're expecting a straight happy-go-lucky comedy (ala 40 Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up) this may surprise you.

I'm not much of a fan of Adam Sadler. Normally he annoys me, but I found him actually quite good at playing a more unlikeable character. His and Rogen's parts were written especially for them and it shows in their interaction, which does elevate the movie and carry it all the way through.

All in all, not your average comedy, but certainly funny enough to get a fair few laughs in. Then, once you've stopped laughing, there's enough human emotion to finish it off with to make it so you actually care about the characters.

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one