It's Kind of a Funny Story

Directed by: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
UK release date: 7 January 2010
UK release date: 8 October 2010
Starring: Keir Gilchrist, Emma Roberts, Zach Galifianakis, Jeremy Davies



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She said:

I had not seen a trailer for this film before I went to see it - I was simply drawn to it because it was set in a mental health hospital and starred Zach Galifianakis (I totally would, fyi). I was expecting something with an indie feel, something a bit quirky and with a bit of heart to it. This is exactly what I got. And to top it off the patients weren't all walking around in padded rooms wearing pyjamas! Huzzah!

This film is essentially a coming-of-age story about self discovery... the clever part was setting it in a psychiatric ward. Where better to learn that life isn't as tragic as it seemed then by being able to compare yourself to people who really are struggling? However by making this film a comedy drama I had concerns it would either trivialise mental health or else glamorize it. In fact it did neither - it struck a nice 'matter of fact' balance, which, as someone who works in a mental health setting, I really appreciated.

Despite a breakthrough performance by young star Keir Gilchrist (who played main character Craig) the star of the film is undoubtedly Zach Galifianakis who plays Bobby, a patient that befriends Craig when he comes into hospital. Bobby is a man who despite the optimism he hands out to others has almost given up on his own life, or at least accepted it the way it is. Kudos to Zach G. for taking on the task of playing such a complex character and still managing to make you leave with a smile rather than wanting to 'check in' yourself.

Overall I thought this was a nice, quirky little film. Perhaps it didn't change my life totally, but it did make me think, and let's be honest teen films don't often do that. By the way if you are wondering yes this is a book and on Amazon's "people who bought this also bought" there are two John Green books as well as 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' and 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist'. I think that tells you much of what you need to know. I give this film {{{3.5 out of 5}}}

He said:
I really enjoy when a film tugs at my heart strings, for the most part I am not led blindly by my emotions like so many people I have known, but every once in a while I will come across a film of novel that pushes all the right buttons and manages to retrieve an emotion stronger than happy or annoyed.

Keir Gilchrist appears to be a very talented up and coming young actor and he proves in this film that he has the acting chops that so many child actors lack to make the successful jump to adult acting. As Helen says above Galifianakis steals nearly every scene he is in. At one point Helen turned to me during the film and said that she has added Mr Galifianakis to her Guilt Free three, thankfully to me my wife seems to be physically attracted to a body type that is exactly like my own.

The only issue I had with this film is how disingenuous Craig's family seem to be, at no point during the film was I convinced that the boys parents were at all concerned that their child had checked himself into a psych ward in a hospital because of his thoughts of suicide. If anything they appeared to be put out or annoyed that he was seeking attention. Though they were happy to visit him and lend him money. I give this film {{{3.5 out of 5}}}

They said: This is a film that is worth watching and may have otherwise gone underneath your radar. We give it [[[7 out of 10]]]

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How many films can you think of that are set in a mental health hospital?

The Hangover (directed by Todd Phillips)

IMDB page

Starring: Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha , Bradley Cooper, Heather Graham

She said:

It has to be said that I am not the biggest fan of these kind of slapstick comedies. I find the humour immature and, while I understand that is the whole point, I just don't find it that funny. I spent most of the film not hating it and not loving it but rather finding it mildly amusing. I didn't laugh out loud for at least 20 minutes though so my expectations were pretty low from the get go. However it redeemed itself in some places and overall this film is - in my expert film reviewers opinion - 'alright'.

As I was watching I was think about what my rating would be for this film. I have to admit there were scenes or events that had me as low as 2 and some that had me as high as a 3.5. The best part for me was when they parodied Rain Man. There is a moment where they come down the escalator, one character as Tom Cruise and one as Dustin Hoffman, with Iko Iko playing over the top. It is these kind of moments that we film buffs love. Little homages and nods to other films where you the viewer can feel privileged that you 'get it'.

The lowest point... I have to say there were several so it is hard to choose. There was a scene with a woman breastfeeding - always going to be a cheap gag. Congratulations script writers... you made a boob joke! Well done you! These are the moments which make me not like this style of comedy. Jokes about breasts and tazering each other just can't stand up to intelligent or ironic humour.

In terms of characters they were pretty much what I expected them to be. All of the main characters are, of course, complete idiots but Alan's idiocy is much more offbeat making him stand out to me. But the filmmakers played on too many stereotypes and I spent a lot of time willing them to go somewhere different from the cliche they were leading up to.

Overall this really wasn't a bad film despite some of my harsh comment. But I am not going to rave about a film that a bunch of twelve year old boys who spend their time looking at Playboys and discussing who has the best knockers. I give this film 3 out of 5.

He said:
I have to start this review stating that I saw this film when it was first released in the states with my brother and we both really enjoyed it. I haven't seen it since that first time, but I did enjoy it.

I agree with what Helen has said above, it is cliche and typical guy humor, but I think that reason alone is one of the reasons we went to see it. I really enjoy these type of comedies. They could be done better and they could easily be more intelligent but I think their imaturity and need to go for the easy "boob" jokes is part of their charm.

There are a lot of films that set out to be a certain type of film, be it comedy, Drama, Sci-fi or a hybrid of some type, and completely miss the mark. This is really not one of those types of films it fulfils the promise it makes with the trailer. You will laugh, you will enjoy the film and it wont be the worst film you see this year.

Obviously I enjoy films like this and it is for that reason that I am a little more lax when they play it safe with the easy cliched types of comedy that we see in a lot of current films. [[[I give this film 4 out of 5]]]

They said:
This isn't a family friendly comedy. It is adult humor with a less than adult situation. Over all it is worth watching {{{{we give it 7 out of 10}}}}