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This Friday, “Funny People” premieres and rounds out the month of July.  We at TheMovieBanter.com want to welcome Hollywood Insider, Ron Ashley, with his first guest review.  Ron had the privilege of attending the Los Angeles premiere of the film last week and wanted to share his thoughts.  We hope you enjoy his insightful writing as much as we did.

Also, we hope this becomes some sort of routine where Ron will have share his thoughts on movies that have yet to hit theaters and/or on events that he deems worthy to provide some insight on.  Ron, we appreciate your efforts and time spent on putting this together.

Ron’s review of “Funny People”

“Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler’s latest film FUNNY PEOPLE, while great in it’s own right, is very different from any of their previous films.  Described as Apatow’s “passion project”, the film is more dramatic than his earlier work, but it maintains the charm and wit normally associated with Apatow.  The film stars Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jason Schwartzman, and Jonah Hill.  There were some pretty fantastic cameos, including Norm MacDonald, Eminem, Sarah Silverman, and Andy Dick.  Aziz Ansari (of HUMAN GIANT) and RZA (formerly of the Wutang Clan) also make appearances.

Coons! Night of the Bandits of the Night dvd The film follows self-loathing star comedian George Simmons (Sandler), who finds out that he has a fatal form of leukemia, and decides to take a break from starring in financially-motivated, cheesy blockbusters in order to devote himself to stand-up comedy again.  He hires young, unknown comedian Ira Wright (Rogen) to write jokes for him and be his personal assistant.  His physical condition forces him to reflect on the bad decisions he has made and the bridges he has burned throughout his life as a selfish jerk, and he tries to begin to make amends with these wronged people, including the only woman he ever really loved, Laura (Mann).

While the film is laugh-out-loud funny at times, it deals with some heavy issues, like death, self-hatred, and infidelity… and it deals with them very effectively.  It didn’t feel preachy or holier-than-thou at all, but it definitely got me thinking about my own life and values.  You don’t just walk out of the theater giggling about all the noises that Adam Sandler made.  This is a thoughtful, thoroughly entertaining film.

This film was well-cast, and certain performances were outstanding.  Eric Bana surprised me… he was sincere and totally hilarious.  I felt he stole the show here.  Jonah Hill was far more relaxed and natural than usual.  It didn’t feel like he was trying too hard, which was a vast improvement from his previous work.  Per usual, Sandler, Rogen, and Schwartzman delivered.  Leslie Mann was fantastic as well.

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In a way, it’s like 2 movies combined… the comedic and dramatic elements create this feel, which might make the film difficult to sell to a prospective audience.  However, there is definite quality here.  Go see this in the theater!  More films like this need to get made“

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The Long Hot Summer hd Feel free to post a comment on your thoughts of the review or to send a quick message to Ron. He will check up on comments directed at him and try to respond as promptly as possible.

Ron, thanks again.

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For a trailer of the movie, click the link of “Funny People” in the Banter Radar section.

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