In Review, A Threesome: (500) Days of Summer, Funny People & In The Loop

For any readers wondering about the inactivity over the last week, I have been busy prepping for the fall semester of college starting in a bout two weeks. Thankfully, however, during this time period I was able to see three new films, as well as compile my First 1/2 of The Year Awards to be posted later. So here now, is my review(s) of three very different comedies coming in the form of a romantic comedy, behind the scenes dramady, and a political satire.

(500) Days of Summer:

I have never been a fan of romantic comedies, finding them to be generic, boring and having little if any substance based within our reality. With the exception of Woody Allen and very few other filmmakers, the romantic comedy has long been a cesspool for uncreative works, at least until now. (500) Days of Summer is a revelation, twisting and morphing the genre while revitalizing it from it's artistic slumber.

Directed by veteran music video auteur, Marc Webb, Summer is a fantastic movie featuring innovative direction, phenomenal writing and some of the best filmic story telling the genre has ever seen. Musical numbers, animation, split screen, narration and a non linear structure are all featured to great triumph, succeeding when the film could have ended up a huge failure. But like the saying goes, without risk there can be no reward.

The movie, which succeeds in nearly every department, however would have not done so had it been cast with the wrong actors. Thankfully, the stars of this film are indie sensations Joseph Gordon Levitt and Zooey Deschanel who both give the best most heartfelt performances of their careers. Deschanel, whose Summer could have easily become the film's villain, provides us with a complex modern day woman unsure of what she really wants, besides knowing she just wants to have fun. You feel for her, despite watching her as she breaks the heart of the movie's protagonist Tom, which leads us to Joseph Gordon Levitt. As Tom, Levitt breathes life and warmth into the movie, giving a funny, touching and heartfelt performance that surely ranks as the best work of his career. Hopefully, come awards time, voters will remember his work in this film as it truly shines and is a testament to his talent and versatility.

In short, (500) Days of Summer is without a doubt one of the best, if not the best films I've seen this year. It is deserving of any awards and accolades it receives, as it is a phenomenal entry into a genre that had died long ago, and it is definitely the perfect date movie.

Grade: A

Oscar Potential: Actor, Actress, Screenplay

Funny People:

The 3rd film from Judd Apatow, the reigning king of Hollywood comedy, Funny People is a definite departure from his previous efforts The 40 Year Old Virgin, and Knocked Up, into a new territory of more mature filmaking for Mr. Apatow, and while he could have ended up with egg on his face, Mr. Apatow efforts have given us perhaps his most complete film of his career.

Telling the duel stories of George Simmons, a famous comedian and movie star, and Ira Wright, a young up and comer on the comedy club circuit, Funny People weaves a tale of redemption and what fame means if you have no one to share it with, as well as how experiences can change the way you live, or not.
Featuring one of the best ensemble casts of the year, Funny People not only delivers some of the best writing of 2009, but more surprisingly some of the best acting as well. Adam Sandler, who stars as George Simmons a dying comedian and movie star, long known for his portrayal of immature man-boys delivers one of the best performances of his career and the year, playing what is basically a bizarro world version of himself. He conveys a world weariness rarely seen in his previous works, and is at different points manic, touchingly funny and devastatingly sad. My hope is that this film will lead him to more mature works like Punch Drunk Love and Reign Over Me, in which he can really sink his teeth into. Other great performances come from Seth Rogen and Mrs. Apatow herself, Leslie Mann, who both give career best work as the two most important people in George's life: his assistant best friend, and the love who got away. On a side note, Eric Bana steals the scenes he is in as Leslie Mann's Australian husband, giving a rapturously funny performance that is as complex as one could hope. Bana should definitely return to comedy in the future.

While it may be a bit overlong at times, Funny People is a definite comedy classic in the vein of James L. Brooks and Cameron Crowe's work. Judd Apatow has now proven himself equally adept at drama as he is at comedy, and my wish is that he can continue in today's economy to make work as mature and touching and hilarious as Funny People.

Grade: B

Oscar Potential: Picture, Director, Actor, Sup. Actor, Sup. Actress, Screenplay

In The Loop:

In The Loop is a film that I have been trying to wrap my head around for the past couple of weeks. It is at times increasingly outrageous and hilarious, while at other moments boring, putative and confusing. There are moments of comedic genius and others that feel like they are part of a bad BBC ripoff, ironic because it's director played a large role in the creation of The Thick of It from which In The Loop is adapted.

The screenplay is without a doubt excellent, written by Armando Iannucci and others, and features some of the wittiest lines and quotes in years, as is the acting from just about everyone involved. Peter Capaldi is phenomenal as Malcolm Tucker, a vile obscenity spewing spin doctor, and gives some of the year's best acting. Also impressive is Tom Hollander as a hapless government official who is a pawn in nearly everybodys political agenda except his own, and watching him as his career slowly destroys itself was a hilarious treat.
I will definitely be commenting further on this film once I can figure out exactly what the hell was going on, I am seeing it again tomorrow so this review will definitely be edited by next week.

Grade: As of now C+, but subject to change

Oscar Potential: Actor, Sup. Actor, Sup. Actress, Screenplay