Funny People
Encyclopedia
Funny People is a 2009 American comedy-drama film written, co-produced and directed by Judd Apatow
, and starring Adam Sandler
, Seth Rogen
, and Leslie Mann
. The film was released on 31 July 2009 in North America
, and on 28 August 2009 in the United Kingdom
. Funny People uses considerably more dramatic elements than seen in Apatow's previous films. The film was co-produced by Apatow Productions
and Mr. Madison 23 Productions, a subsidiary of Sandler's company Happy Madison
. Universal Pictures
and Columbia Pictures
co-financed the film and it also served as a worldwide distributor.
, George is offered an experimental treatment which has an eight-percent chance of therapeutic response. Believing he is about to die, he decides to return to his roots and do stand-up comedy.
Ira Wright (Rogen) is an aspiring stand-up comedian who lives in an apartment with his two best friends, Mark Taylor Jackson (Jason Schwartzman
), a moderately successful sitcom actor, and fellow comedian Leo Koenig (Jonah Hill
). Mark stars in a poorly-conceived sitcom called "Yo Teach" where Mark plays a teacher for a group of misfit students. Despite the obvious failings of the show, Mark constantly brags about his high income and holds himself in a higher regard as an actor and comedian. When fellow stand-up comedienne Daisy (Aubrey Plaza) visits, Mark magnanimously tells Ira that Mark will hold off having sex with her for ten days in order for Ira to make a play for her. George and Ira meet at a comedy club, where George takes the stage to deliver a dark routine, which Ira mocks as the follow-up act. George calls Ira the next morning and asks him to write jokes for George's upcoming gig at a MySpace
corporate event.
The event goes well and George hires Ira as his assistant. When George tells him about his condition, Ira cares for him through the treatment. After a walking conversation between Ira, Mark, and Leo, Ira implores George to tell people about his disease. George calls his ex-fiancée, Laura (Mann), to apologize for his continual infidelities when they were together, but does not tell her why he is having a change of heart. Meanwhile, Ira awkwardly asks Daisy out, but later discovers that she and Mark have slept together, and angrily cuts off all ties with her. Laura comes to one of George′s shows and later visits him at his house, telling him that her husband, Clarke, cheats on her as well. They reconcile and tentatively become friends.
George′s physician tells him that the medicine has worked: George's leukemia is in remission. George is happy that the death sentence has been lifted, but is unsure what to do with his life now that he has the rest of it to live. He decides he wants a long-term relationship and calls Laura, but does not tell her the news. George and Ira go to a gig in San Francisco; Laura meets them there. George makes Ira tell Laura during intermission that he is free of disease. George later explains that he did not want to "jinx it". They embrace and she invites George and Ira to her house in Marin County.
George and Ira spend time with Laura and her daughters. George and Laura sneak into the guest house together to have sex; meanwhile, Ira tells both daughters that George is healthy. When Clarke (Eric Bana
) unexpectedly arrives, Laura asks George to maintain the façade of being deathly sick. In the morning, Clarke bids George a tearful goodbye — which is cut short when his daughters reveal that George is actually healthy. Clarke confronts Laura and accuses her cheating. In response, Laura confronts him with his infidelity, and he drives off in a huff. Laura tells George that she plans to leave Clarke; he is overjoyed, but Ira tells him their affair will destroy a family. Angered, George threatens to fire him.
The next day, George, Ira, and Laura watch video of Laura′s daughter, Mabel, performing the song “Memory” from Cats
; Ira and Laura find the performance moving, but George appears bored. Laura leaves for the airport to tell Clarke she is leaving him; Ira lies to George and follows her. At the airport, Clarke confesses his infidelity to Laura, and pleads with her to give their marriage another try. Laura agrees and says her affair with George was a mere "flirtation". They discover Ira following them, and goad him into admitting that he is trying to stop George and Laura from running off together.
An enraged Clarke chases George out of his house and beats him up. George forces Laura to choose between him and Clarke; she chooses her husband, and bids George a tearful goodbye. Heading back to Los Angeles, George berates Ira for his betrayal and fires him. Ira upbraids George for not learning anything from his near-death experience, and tells him that he will never be able to escape his own personal failings because of his selfish nature. Ira returns to his old job at the deli department while he starts to date Daisy. George attends Ira′s stand-up and sees that his old assistant has become a far more confident performer. The next day, George finds Ira at work and admits that even though he is no longer sick, his attitude needs improvement. The two then start telling each other jokes, with George having written down a few for Ira as they laugh together and repair their friendship.
Dave Attell
, Sarah Silverman
, Norm Macdonald
, Paul Reiser
, Tom Anderson
, Charles Fleischer
, George Wallace
, and Andy Dick
made cameo appearances as themselves in the roles of George's fellow comedians. Rapper Eminem
, comedian Ray Romano
, musician James Taylor
, MADtv
member Nicole Parker
, and newcomer Bo Burnham
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, while Justin Long
and Apatow regular Ken Jeong
have cameos in the film as characters in movies for which George is famous. Owen Wilson
and Elizabeth Banks
are featured on posters for fake movies in which George starred. Bryan Batt
makes an appearance as George's agent. Musicians Jon Brion
, Sebastian Steinberg
, and James Gadson
appear in the film as members of George's jam band. Comedians Rod Man, Budd Friedman
, Monty Hoffman, Mark Schiff
, Orny Adams
, Al Lubel, and Jerry Minor
appear as themselves. Comedienne/producer/writer Carol Leifer
appears as herself.
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, however, 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. They discussed making the film almost two years prior to production.
Apatow had cast Sandler, Seth Rogen
, and Leslie Mann
as the three leads in March 2008. Eric Bana
, Jonah Hill
, and Jason Schwartzman
were 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; Rogen additionally commented they cast him as the husband because he was someone who would be considered an intimidating presence to both Sandler and Rogen. Bana mentioned that he decided to play the character with his native Australian accent so he would be more comfortable improvising.
Academy Award-winning cinematographer Janusz Kamiński
handled the cinematography for the film. Apatow had Sandler, Rogen, and Hill 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. Hill admitted his performance was not well-received because he has never done stand-up. 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.
Apatow used an old video of Sandler, from when the two were roommates, in which Sandler makes prank phone calls, and features a young Ben Stiller
.
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. The sitcom, Yo Teach!, "stars" character Mark Taylor Jackson (Jason Schwartzman
), a C-list actor portraying a young teacher with a class of failing students, and includes a cameo by internet celebrity Bo Burnham
.
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 July 24, which is a live broadcast stand-up of Sandler, Rogen and Hill as part of the film's promotion.
and a 50% "Rotten" rating among Top Critics, 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." Another review aggregator, Metacritic
, gave the film a metascore of 60 out of 100 under the "Mixed or Average Reviews" category, based on 35 reviews.
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
.
Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
awarded the film 3½ stars of four, calling it "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." 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." Kyle Smith
of the New York Post
wrote that the film was "one of the most absorbing films of the year."
Michael Phillips
of the Chicago Tribune
gave the film one of 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 2½ hours."
, cost $33 million to produce and made over $219 million in gross receipts, while Sandler's last three movies had all made over 100 million dollars.
and Blu-ray in the USA on November 24, 2009. There is a one-disc "Unrated & Theatrical" cut and a two-disc "Unrated Edition". The Unrated cut of the film runs at 153 minutes, 8 minutes longer than the original theatrical cut. It was released in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2010, again, on DVD and Blu-ray.
The film also features "Joanna" by Kool & The Gang
, "Three Little Birds
" by Bob Marley
, "Diamond Dave" by The Bird and the Bee
, "Man in the Box
" by Alice in Chains
, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life
" by Bill Medley
& Jennifer Warnes
, "Walk Like an Egyptian
" by The Bangles
, "In Private" by Paul McCartney
, and "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)
" by George Harrison
.
The Blu-ray and 2-Disc DVD
also includes Adam Sandler performing The English Beat's "Save It for Later."
Additional songs used in the film's trailers are "We Will Become Silhouettes
" by The Postal Service
, "My Friend" by Dr. Dog
, and "Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (Again)" by Wilco.
Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is well known for his work in comedy films, especially for films he has been involved with throughout the latter half of the 2000s. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, a film production company that also developed the...
, and starring Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
, Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
, and Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann is an American actress best known for her roles in comedic films, many of which are collaborations with her husband, Judd Apatow.-Early life:...
. The film was released on 31 July 2009 in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and on 28 August 2009 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Funny People uses considerably more dramatic elements than seen in Apatow's previous films. The film was co-produced by Apatow Productions
Apatow Productions
Apatow Productions, or simply, The Apatow Company is an American film/television production company founded by Judd Apatow in 1999.- Background and history:...
and Mr. Madison 23 Productions, a subsidiary of Sandler's company Happy Madison
Happy Madison
Happy Madison Productions is an American film/television production company founded by actor/comedian Adam Sandler in 1999 that is best known for comedy films. Happy Madison takes its name from the films Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison, two box office successes starring Sandler himself, both...
. Universal Pictures
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
and Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
co-financed the film and it also served as a worldwide distributor.
Plot
George Simmons (Sandler) is a very successful 40-something comedian and actor. However, he is self-absorbed, lonely and estranged from his family. When diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemiaAcute myeloid leukemia
Acute myeloid leukemia , also known as acute myelogenous leukemia, is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal white blood cells that accumulate in the bone marrow and interfere with the production of normal blood cells. AML is the most common acute...
, George is offered an experimental treatment which has an eight-percent chance of therapeutic response. Believing he is about to die, he decides to return to his roots and do stand-up comedy.
Ira Wright (Rogen) is an aspiring stand-up comedian who lives in an apartment with his two best friends, Mark Taylor Jackson (Jason Schwartzman
Jason Schwartzman
Jason Francesco Schwartzman is an American actor and musician. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Rushmore, Spun, I Heart Huckabees, Shopgirl, Marie Antoinette, The Darjeeling Limited, Funny People, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World...
), a moderately successful sitcom actor, and fellow comedian Leo Koenig (Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill Feldstein , known professionally as Jonah Hill, is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and comedian. Hill is best known roles for his roles in Superbad, Knocked Up, and Get Him to the Greek. He made his theatrical debut in I Heart Huckabees, alongside Jason Schwartzman and Dustin...
). Mark stars in a poorly-conceived sitcom called "Yo Teach" where Mark plays a teacher for a group of misfit students. Despite the obvious failings of the show, Mark constantly brags about his high income and holds himself in a higher regard as an actor and comedian. When fellow stand-up comedienne Daisy (Aubrey Plaza) visits, Mark magnanimously tells Ira that Mark will hold off having sex with her for ten days in order for Ira to make a play for her. George and Ira meet at a comedy club, where George takes the stage to deliver a dark routine, which Ira mocks as the follow-up act. George calls Ira the next morning and asks him to write jokes for George's upcoming gig at a MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
corporate event.
The event goes well and George hires Ira as his assistant. When George tells him about his condition, Ira cares for him through the treatment. After a walking conversation between Ira, Mark, and Leo, Ira implores George to tell people about his disease. George calls his ex-fiancée, Laura (Mann), to apologize for his continual infidelities when they were together, but does not tell her why he is having a change of heart. Meanwhile, Ira awkwardly asks Daisy out, but later discovers that she and Mark have slept together, and angrily cuts off all ties with her. Laura comes to one of George′s shows and later visits him at his house, telling him that her husband, Clarke, cheats on her as well. They reconcile and tentatively become friends.
George′s physician tells him that the medicine has worked: George's leukemia is in remission. George is happy that the death sentence has been lifted, but is unsure what to do with his life now that he has the rest of it to live. He decides he wants a long-term relationship and calls Laura, but does not tell her the news. George and Ira go to a gig in San Francisco; Laura meets them there. George makes Ira tell Laura during intermission that he is free of disease. George later explains that he did not want to "jinx it". They embrace and she invites George and Ira to her house in Marin County.
George and Ira spend time with Laura and her daughters. George and Laura sneak into the guest house together to have sex; meanwhile, Ira tells both daughters that George is healthy. When Clarke (Eric Bana
Eric Bana
Eric Bana is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper...
) unexpectedly arrives, Laura asks George to maintain the façade of being deathly sick. In the morning, Clarke bids George a tearful goodbye — which is cut short when his daughters reveal that George is actually healthy. Clarke confronts Laura and accuses her cheating. In response, Laura confronts him with his infidelity, and he drives off in a huff. Laura tells George that she plans to leave Clarke; he is overjoyed, but Ira tells him their affair will destroy a family. Angered, George threatens to fire him.
The next day, George, Ira, and Laura watch video of Laura′s daughter, Mabel, performing the song “Memory” from Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
; Ira and Laura find the performance moving, but George appears bored. Laura leaves for the airport to tell Clarke she is leaving him; Ira lies to George and follows her. At the airport, Clarke confesses his infidelity to Laura, and pleads with her to give their marriage another try. Laura agrees and says her affair with George was a mere "flirtation". They discover Ira following them, and goad him into admitting that he is trying to stop George and Laura from running off together.
An enraged Clarke chases George out of his house and beats him up. George forces Laura to choose between him and Clarke; she chooses her husband, and bids George a tearful goodbye. Heading back to Los Angeles, George berates Ira for his betrayal and fires him. Ira upbraids George for not learning anything from his near-death experience, and tells him that he will never be able to escape his own personal failings because of his selfish nature. Ira returns to his old job at the deli department while he starts to date Daisy. George attends Ira′s stand-up and sees that his old assistant has become a far more confident performer. The next day, George finds Ira at work and admits that even though he is no longer sick, his attitude needs improvement. The two then start telling each other jokes, with George having written down a few for Ira as they laugh together and repair their friendship.
Cast
- Adam SandlerAdam SandlerAdam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
as George Simmons - Seth RogenSeth RogenSeth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
as Ira Wright - Leslie MannLeslie MannLeslie Mann is an American actress best known for her roles in comedic films, many of which are collaborations with her husband, Judd Apatow.-Early life:...
as Laura - Jonah HillJonah HillJonah Hill Feldstein , known professionally as Jonah Hill, is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and comedian. Hill is best known roles for his roles in Superbad, Knocked Up, and Get Him to the Greek. He made his theatrical debut in I Heart Huckabees, alongside Jason Schwartzman and Dustin...
as Leo Koenig - Aubrey Plaza as Daisy Danby
- Jason SchwartzmanJason SchwartzmanJason Francesco Schwartzman is an American actor and musician. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Rushmore, Spun, I Heart Huckabees, Shopgirl, Marie Antoinette, The Darjeeling Limited, Funny People, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World...
as Mark Taylor Jackson - Eric BanaEric BanaEric Bana is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper...
as Clarke - RZARZARobert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...
as Chuck - Maude Apatow as Mable
- Iris Apatow as Ingrid
- Aziz AnsariAziz AnsariAziz Ansari is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He currently stars as Tom Haverford on the NBC show Parks and Recreation....
as Randy Springs - Torsten Voges as Dr. Lars
- Allan Wasserman as Dr. Stevens
- Steve BannosSteve BannosSteve Bannos is an American television and film actor and writer. As an actor, he may be best known for his portrayal of Frank Kowchevski on the short-lived NBC dramedy Freaks and Geeks....
as Deli Manager
Dave Attell
Dave Attell
Dave Attell is an American stand-up comedian and the host of Comedy Central's Insomniac with Dave Attell and The Gong Show with Dave Attell.-Stand-up beginning:...
, Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Kate Silverman is a Jewish American comedian, writer, actress, singer and musician. Her satirical comedy addresses social taboos and controversial topics such as racism, sexism, and religion....
, Norm Macdonald
Norm MacDonald
Norman Gene "Norm" Macdonald is a Canadian stand-up comedian, writer and actor. He is best known for his five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, which included anchoring Weekend Update for three years...
, Paul Reiser
Paul Reiser
Paul Reiser is an American stand-up comedian, actor, television personality, author, screenwriter and musician. He is most widely known for his role on the long-running television sitcom Mad About You.-Early life:...
, Tom Anderson
Tom Anderson (MySpace)
-External links:* on * * on...
, Charles Fleischer
Charles Fleischer
Charles Fleischer is an American actor, stand-up comedian and voice artist.-Life and career:Fleischer was born in Washington, D.C. As a child, he is reported to have spent several summers at Kamp Kewanee in La Plume, Pennsylvania, where he started practicing his stand-up routine at age nine...
, George Wallace
George Wallace (comedian)
George Henry Wallace is an American comedian and actor. He is number 93 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time.-Early life:...
, and Andy Dick
Andy Dick
Andrew R. "Andy" Dick is an American comedian, actor, musician and television/film producer. His first regular television role was on the short-lived but highly influential Ben Stiller Show. In the mid-1990s, he had a long-running stint on NBC's NewsRadio...
made cameo appearances as themselves in the roles of George's fellow comedians. Rapper Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
, comedian Ray Romano
Ray Romano
Raymond Albert "Ray" Romano is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian, best known for his roles on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond and in the Ice Age film series. He recently starred in the TNT comedy-drama Men of a Certain Age.-Early life:Romano was born in Queens, New York to Italian...
, musician James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
, MADtv
MADtv
MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...
member Nicole Parker
Nicole Parker
Nicole Frances Parker is an Emmy Award-winning actress and singer best known for her work on Fox's sketch comedy show MADtv. In July 2009, she concluded her run as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked...
, and newcomer Bo Burnham
Bo Burnham
Robert "Bo" Burnham is an American comedian, singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and Internet celebrity. Writing comedic and satirical songs with a politically incorrect slant, he achieved fame when his YouTube videos took off; they have received more than 70 million views...
also appeared in small roles. Undeclared
Undeclared
Undeclared is an American sitcom that aired on Fox during the 2001–02 season.- Premise :The half-hour comedy was Judd Apatow's follow-up to his earlier television series Freaks and Geeks, which also lasted for one season...
alum Carla Gallo
Carla Gallo
Carla Gallo is an American actress notable for roles in the television series Undeclared, Carnivàle, and Bones, and in the indie film Spanking the Monkey.-Filmography:-External links:...
had a cameo in the film as a character on Yo Teach!, the television show within the film that Mark stars in, while Justin Long
Justin Long
Justin Jacob Long is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Galaxy Quest, Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball, Live Free or Die Hard, He's Just Not That into You, Drag Me to Hell, and Youth in Revolt, and his personification of a Mac in Apple's "Get a...
and Apatow regular Ken Jeong
Ken Jeong
Kendrick Kang-Joh "Ken" Jeong , also known as "Dr. Ken," is an American comedian, actor, and physician. Currently, he appears as Ben Chang on the NBC comedy series Community.-Early life and medical career:...
have cameos in the film as characters in movies for which George is famous. Owen Wilson
Owen Wilson
Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and writer, known for his roles in the films The Haunting, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, Bottle Rocket, the Cars series, The Darjeeling Limited, Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris, Shanghai Noon,...
and Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell , known professionally as Elizabeth Banks, is an American actress. Banks had her film debut in the low-budget independent film Surrender Dorothy...
are featured on posters for fake movies in which George starred. Bryan Batt
Bryan Batt
Bryan Batt is an American actor best known for his role in the AMC series Mad Men as Salvatore Romano, an art director for the Sterling Cooper agency. Primarily a theater actor, he has had a number of starring roles in movies and television as well...
makes an appearance as George's agent. Musicians Jon Brion
Jon Brion
Jon Brion is an American rock and pop multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, composer and record producer.-Early life:...
, Sebastian Steinberg
Sebastian Steinberg
Sebastian Steinberg is an American bass player, best known for his work in the band Soul Coughing.- Biography :Steinberg played with Soul Coughing throughout the band's entire history, from 1992–2000. He also recorded and performed with guitarist Marc Ribot and appeared on William Shatner's 2004...
, and James Gadson
James Gadson
James Gadson is an American drummer and session musician. Beginning his career in the late 1960s, Gadson has since become one of the most-recorded drummers in the history of R&B music....
appear in the film as members of George's jam band. Comedians Rod Man, Budd Friedman
Budd Friedman
Budd Friedman is best known as the founder and original proprietor and MC of the Improvisation Comedy Club, which opened in 1963, on West 44th Street near the SE corner of 9th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan...
, Monty Hoffman, Mark Schiff
Mark Schiff
Mark Schiff is an American voice actor and comedian. He provided the voice of the little dog on the animated series 2 Stupid Dogs. He has appeared in small guest roles on shows such as My Two Dads and Mad About You. He has also been a writer for Blue Collar TV.-External links:*...
, Orny Adams
Orny Adams
Orny Adams is an American actor, comedy writer and stand-up comic.-Life and career:Adams is a native of Lexington, Massachusetts...
, Al Lubel, and Jerry Minor
Jerry Minor
Jerry C. Minor is an American actor, comedian and writer known for his comedic roles in numerous television programs such as Mr. Show, Saturday Night Live, Delocated, Crossballs, Carpoolers and Lucky Louie....
appear as themselves. Comedienne/producer/writer Carol Leifer
Carol Leifer
Carol Leifer is an American comedian, writer, producer and actor whose career as a stand-up comedian started in the 1970s when she was in college. David Letterman discovered her performing in a comedy club in the 1980s and she has since been a guest on Late Night With David Letterman over...
appears as herself.
Production
Judd ApatowJudd Apatow
Judd Apatow is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is well known for his work in comedy films, especially for films he has been involved with throughout the latter half of the 2000s. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, a film production company that also developed the...
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, however, 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
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
play that role. They discussed making the film almost two years prior to production.
Apatow had cast Sandler, Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
, and Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann is an American actress best known for her roles in comedic films, many of which are collaborations with her husband, Judd Apatow.-Early life:...
as the three leads in March 2008. Eric Bana
Eric Bana
Eric Bana is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper...
, Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill Feldstein , known professionally as Jonah Hill, is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and comedian. Hill is best known roles for his roles in Superbad, Knocked Up, and Get Him to the Greek. He made his theatrical debut in I Heart Huckabees, alongside Jason Schwartzman and Dustin...
, and Jason Schwartzman
Jason Schwartzman
Jason Francesco Schwartzman is an American actor and musician. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Rushmore, Spun, I Heart Huckabees, Shopgirl, Marie Antoinette, The Darjeeling Limited, Funny People, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World...
were 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; Rogen additionally commented they cast him as the husband because he was someone who would be considered an intimidating presence to both Sandler and Rogen. Bana mentioned that he decided to play the character with his native Australian accent so he would be more comfortable improvising.
Academy Award-winning cinematographer Janusz Kamiński
Janusz Kaminski
Janusz Zygmunt Kamiński is a Polish cinematographer and film director. He has photographed all of Steven Spielberg's films since 1993's Schindler's List.-Life and career:...
handled the cinematography for the film. Apatow had Sandler, Rogen, and Hill 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. Hill admitted his performance was not well-received because he has never done stand-up. 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.
Apatow used an old video of Sandler, from when the two were roommates, in which Sandler makes prank phone calls, and features a young Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
.
Marketing
The first teaser poster for the film was released November 13, 2008. On the day the teaser poster was released, Universal PicturesUniversal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
and MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
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
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
concert event called "A Night of Funny People" at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to film a scene for the movie. The event was open to the general public and featured acts by Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
, Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
, Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He currently stars as Tom Haverford on the NBC show Parks and Recreation....
, Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Kate Silverman is a Jewish American comedian, writer, actress, singer and musician. Her satirical comedy addresses social taboos and controversial topics such as racism, sexism, and religion....
, David Spade
David Spade
David Wayne Spade is an American actor, comedian and television personality who first became famous in the 1990s as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and from 1997 until 2003 when he starred as Dennis Finch on Just Shoot Me!. He also starred as C.J...
, and Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
, 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
I Love You, Man
I Love You, Man is a 2009 American comedy film originally titled Let's be Friends and written by Larry Levin before John Hamburg rewrote and directed the film...
.
A website for a fictional television show-within-a-film was created on NBC.com. The sitcom, Yo Teach!, "stars" character Mark Taylor Jackson (Jason Schwartzman
Jason Schwartzman
Jason Francesco Schwartzman is an American actor and musician. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Rushmore, Spun, I Heart Huckabees, Shopgirl, Marie Antoinette, The Darjeeling Limited, Funny People, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World...
), a C-list actor portraying a young teacher with a class of failing students, and includes a cameo by internet celebrity Bo Burnham
Bo Burnham
Robert "Bo" Burnham is an American comedian, singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and Internet celebrity. Writing comedic and satirical songs with a politically incorrect slant, he achieved fame when his YouTube videos took off; they have received more than 70 million views...
.
A website for Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He currently stars as Tom Haverford on the NBC show Parks and Recreation....
's character Randy Springs was created, along with a documentary of the character on FunnyOrDie.com
Funny or Die
Funny or Die is a comedy video website founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's production company, Gary Sanchez Productions with original and user-generated content. Funny or Die contains exclusive material from a number of famous contributors and also has its own Funny or Die Team, which creates...
. The documentary was directed by Jason Woliner
Jason Woliner
Jason Woliner is an American comedy director, writer, editor and also a former child actor. He is the non-performing member of the comedy group "Human Giant" and has directed the bulk of their output. The group, which also consists of comedians Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel, and Paul Scheer, produced an...
.
Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
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 July 24, which is a live broadcast stand-up of Sandler, Rogen and Hill as part of the film's promotion.
Critical reception
Funny People received mixed to positive reviews from the critics and currently holds a 67% "Fresh" rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and a 50% "Rotten" rating among Top Critics, 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." Another review aggregator, Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, gave the film a metascore of 60 out of 100 under the "Mixed or Average Reviews" category, based on 35 reviews.
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
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
.
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
awarded the film 3½ stars of four, calling it "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." Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
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." Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith is an American critic, novelist and essayist. He is a staff film critic for the New York Post. His film reviewing style has been called "an exercise in hilarious hostility" by Entertainment Weekly....
of the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
wrote that the film was "one of the most absorbing films of the year."
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips (critic)
Michael Phillips is a film critic for the Chicago Tribune newspaper. Previously he was the drama critic of the Tribune; the Los Angeles Times; the St. Paul Pioneer Press; the San Diego Union-Tribune; and the Dallas Times Herald....
of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
gave the film one of 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 2½ hours."
Box office
Funny People was commercially released on July 31, 2009 in the United States and Canada. It was distributed to 3,008 theaters, and grossed $8.63 million on its opening day. At the end of its opening weekend, the film had grossed $23.44 million. Funny People, which cost an estimated $75 million to produce, made about $71 million worldwide in theatres. In comparison, Apatow's previous directorial effort, Knocked UpKnocked Up
Knocked Up is a 2007 American romantic comedy drama film co-produced, written, and directed by Judd Apatow. Starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann, the film follows the repercussions of a drunken one-night stand between Rogen's slacker character and Heigl's just-promoted...
, cost $33 million to produce and made over $219 million in gross receipts, while Sandler's last three movies had all made over 100 million dollars.
Home media
Funny People was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray in the USA on November 24, 2009. There is a one-disc "Unrated & Theatrical" cut and a two-disc "Unrated Edition". The Unrated cut of the film runs at 153 minutes, 8 minutes longer than the original theatrical cut. It was released in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2010, again, on DVD and Blu-ray.
Soundtrack
Funny People: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on July 28, 2009.- "Great Day" by Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
(2:08) - "Wires" by Coconut RecordsCoconut Records (band)Coconut Records is a Los Angeles, California based indie pop musical solo project by Jason Schwartzman , which began in 2006. The debut album, Nighttiming, was released on Schwartzman’s Young Baby Records in 2007. The album had musical contributions by members of Incubus, as well as appearances by...
(2:26) - "All the King's Horses" by Robert PlantRobert PlantRobert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
and the Strange Sensation (4:19) - "Carolina In My Mind (Live)" by James TaylorJames TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
(4:58) - "Keep Me In Your Heart" by Warren ZevonWarren ZevonWarren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his sometimes sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical themes.Zevon's work has often been praised by well-known...
(3:27) - "Real Love" by Adam SandlerAdam SandlerAdam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
(4:56) - "We (Early Take)" by Neil DiamondNeil DiamondNeil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
(4:11) - "Jesus, Etc. (Live Summer '08)" by WilcoWilcoWilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
feat. Andrew BirdAndrew BirdAndrew Bird is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.- Early life and the Bowl of Fire :...
(4:01) - "George Simmons Soon Will Be Gone" by Adam Sandler (2:15)
- "I Am Young" by Coconut Records (3:07)
- "Memory" by Maude Apatow & Larry GoldingsLarry Goldings-Life and career:Goldings was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was a classical music enthusiast, and Larry studied classical piano until the age of twelve. While in high school at Concord Academy, he attended a program at the Eastman School of Music. During this period Erroll Garner,...
(3:53) - "Numb As A Statue" by Warren Zevon (4:07)
- "PhotographPhotograph (Ringo Starr song)"Photograph" is a song written by Ringo Starr and George Harrison. It was released by Starr as a single on 5 October 1973, reaching number eight in the UK and number one in the U.S. singles charts...
" by Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
(3:58) - "Watching the WheelsWatching the Wheels"Watching the Wheels" is a single by John Lennon released posthumously in 1981 after his murder. It was the third and final single released from Lennon and Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy album, and reached #10 in the U.S and #30 in the UK....
(Acoustic Demo)" by John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
(3:06)
Bonus tracks on iTunes release
- "Secret O' Life (Live)" by James TaylorJames TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
(3:55) - "Photograph (Live)" by Adam Sandler (2:55)
- "Everybody Knows This Is NowhereEverybody Knows This Is NowhereEverybody Knows This Is Nowhere is the second studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, released on Reprise Records catalogue RS 6349...
" by Adam Sandler (4:02) - "Nighttiming" by Coconut Records (2:48)
The film also features "Joanna" by Kool & The Gang
Kool & the Gang
Kool & the Gang are an American jazz, R&B, soul, and funk group, originally formed as the Jazziacs in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964.They went through several musical phases during the course of their recording career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, then becoming practitioners of R&B and...
, "Three Little Birds
Three Little Birds
"Three Little Birds" is a song by Bob Marley & The Wailers. It is the fourth track on side two of their 1977 album Exodus and was released as a single in 1980. The song reached the Top 20 in the UK, peaking at number 17. It is one of Bob Marley's most popular songs. The song has been covered by...
" by Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
, "Diamond Dave" by The Bird and the Bee
The Bird and the Bee
The Bird and the Bee is an American indie pop musical duo from Los Angeles, California, consisting of musicians Inara George and Greg Kurstin...
, "Man in the Box
Man in the Box
"Man in the Box" is a single by the rock group Alice in Chains. It was released as a single in 1991 after being featured on the group's debut full-length album Facelift...
" by Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...
, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life
(I've Had) The Time of My Life
" The Time of My Life" is a song composed by Franke Previte, John DeNicola, and Donald Markowitz. It was recorded by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, after having been selected to be the finale song for the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, by choreographer Kenny Ortega and his assistant Miranda Garrison...
" by Bill Medley
Bill Medley
William Thomas Medley is an American singer and songwriter, best known as one half of The Righteous Brothers....
& Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. She is known for her interpretations of compositions written by herself and many others, as well as an extensive playlist as a vocalist on movie soundtracks.Between 1979 and 1987 Warnes surpassed Frank Sinatra as...
, "Walk Like an Egyptian
Walk Like an Egyptian
"Walk Like an Egyptian" is a number-one hit from the album Different Light by The Bangles in 1986.-Origin:Liam Sternberg wrote the song after seeing people on a ferry walking awkwardly to keep their balance, which reminded him of figures in Ancient Egyptian reliefs. The opening lyrics state, "All...
" by The Bangles
The Bangles
The Bangles are an American all-female band that originated in the early 1980s, scoring several hit singles during the decade.-Formation and early years :...
, "In Private" by Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, and "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)
Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)
"Give Me Love " is a song by George Harrison and is the lead track on his 1973 album Living in the Material World. The song was released as a single in May 1973, hitting number one in the US Billboard Hot 100 at the end of June and number eight on the UK Singles Chart...
" by George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
.
The Blu-ray and 2-Disc DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
also includes Adam Sandler performing The English Beat's "Save It for Later."
Additional songs used in the film's trailers are "We Will Become Silhouettes
We Will Become Silhouettes
-External links:* * *AbsolutePunk *Pitchfork Media ,...
" by The Postal Service
The Postal Service
The Postal Service is an American electronic indie pop band composed of vocalist Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and producer Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel and Headset.-Background:...
, "My Friend" by Dr. Dog
Dr. Dog
Dr. Dog is a psychedelic rock band from West Grove, Pennsylvania. Its lineup currently consists of Toby Leaman , Scott McMicken , Frank McElroy , Zach Miller , and Eric Slick . Lead vocal duties are shared between Leaman and McMicken, with all members contributing harmonies...
, and "Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (Again)" by Wilco.
External links
- Official site
- Yahoo Fun
- Funny People at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
- Interview with director/writer Judd Apatow