Between D*ck Jokes, Judd Apatow Upholds Traditional Values

Quick! Think fast – who’s making the most morally conservative films in Hollywood?
 
The answer may surprise you, but it’s none other than Judd Apatow. Yes, the writer-director of “The 40 Year Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up” and the new film “Funny People” might have a reputation for creating profanity-filled R-rated raunch, but in reality they’re actually films that uphold traditional values. And the fact that Apatow sneaks messages that are pro-life in “Knocked Up,” anti-promiscuity in “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and (SPOILER ALERT) upholds marriage against the temptation and forgiveness of infidelity in “Funny People” under the surface of all the dirty talk, means that he’s found a way to preach to far more than the usual choir and spread positive moral messages to those who might otherwise never choose to hear them.

I remember the night I first walked in to see “Virgin” back in 2005. I thought that it would just be one big sex comedy poking fun at the titular character. But as written by Apatow and the film’s star, Steve Carell, the film actually turned every convention one might have expected upside down.

Carell’s Andy had the “problem” of being a 40 year-old virgin, but after initally laughing at him and trying to get him laid, Andy’s co-worker friends slowly start to respect him. One who brags about cheating on his girlfriends winds up turning monogamous when he sees his impending baby on an ultrasound, while another may find his perfect match with a kinky gal but by the end it’s true love nonetheless. (more…)

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Tags: 40 Year Old Virgin, Funny People, judd apatow, Knocked Up, LA Weekly
Posted Aug 10th 2009 at 5:03 am in Culture, Film, Politics | 19844236 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ckozlowski/2009/08/10/apatow/Between+D%2Ack+Jokes%2C+Judd+Apatow+Upholds+Traditional+Values2009-08-10+12%3A03%3A57Carl+Kozlowski

Weak ‘Funny People’ Box Office Shows What Audiences Really Want

Weighed down by a depressing premise made all too apparent by the theatrical trailer and advance publicity which made the film’s title too obviously sarcastic, Jud Apatow’s Funny People opened relatively poorly at the U.S. box office, taking in only $23.4 million. That was good enough to finish at the top of the heap for the weekend, but was the lowest number one opener since Yes Man last year.

Funny People showed much less audience draw than the great majority of Apatow’s and actor Adam Sandler’s previous efforts, and its failure to connect big with audiences cannot be blamed on any recent disappointments. Apatow’s Knocked Up and Sandler’s Bedtime Stories were both excellent films that did very well at the box office.

The magnitude of the disappointment for the Funny People writer-director and its star was summed up well by Reuters: (more…)

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Tags: adam sandler, box office, Funny People, judd apatow, seth rogen
Posted Aug 8th 2009 at 5:56 pm in Culture, Entertainment | 20052271 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/stkarnick/2009/08/08/weak-funny-people-box-office-shows-what-audiences-really-want/Weak+%27Funny+People%27+Box+Office+Shows+What+Audiences+Really+Want2009-08-09+00%3A56%3A39S.T.+Karnick

‘Funny People’ Review

Never in a million years did I think Judd Apatow was capable of making something as sharp and penetrating as “Funny People.” Never. Since the director first started dabbling in film, I’ve been a harsh critic of everything he’s touched, labeling it as over-rated, overlong, self-indulgent and as forgettable as last week’s “National Enquirer.” Well, past is the past. “Funny People” is proof that this was a director working towards something, earning his chops and feeling his way to bigger things. And it was worth the wait. “Funny People” is kinda brilliant — an insightful, touching and intelligent dramedy…  James L. Brooks at his best but with a whole lot of dick jokes.

Adam Sandler is George Simmons, a comedian/movie star as wealthy and popular as Sandler, but having turned his back on his family and cheated on his one true love, Laura (Leslie Mann), he’s now left with only “show-biz friends,” which means he has no friends at all. In-between making films like “Merman” (”Splash” with a guy mermaid) and private-jetting to corporate standup gigs that pay $300k, this desolate 40 year-old haunts a Malibu mansion and looks to fill his emptiness with willing groupies and everything money can buy. (more…)

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Tags: adam sandler, Eric Bana, Funny People, judd apatow, Leslie Mann
Posted Jul 31st 2009 at 8:54 pm in Featured Story, Reviews | 19585848 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/07/31/funny-people-review/%27Funny+People%27+Review2009-08-01+03%3A54%3A17John+Nolte

‘Funny People’ Opens Everywhere Tomorrow

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Tags: adam sandler, Funny People, judd apatow, seth rogen, trailer
Posted Jul 30th 2009 at 3:05 pm in Entertainment, Video | 19509020 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/07/30/funny-people-opens-everywhere-tomorrow/%27Funny+People%27+Opens+Everywhere+Tomorrow2009-07-30+22%3A05%3A38Big+Hollywood

The Inevitable Apatow Backlash

You could feel it in the air as Apatow basked in the glow of his 2006 double whammy, the hilarious “Knocked Up” and “Superbad.” By the time 2007’s “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” rolled around, the backlash was gathering steam.

I told a friend I’d seen it.

“Is it just more of the Judd Apatow formula,” he sniffed. It was, I admitted. But I like the formula. I like it a lot. And not to get too Harry Knowles on everyone, but I’ve liked it for a long while.

I liked “The Ben Stiller Show,” loved “Heavyweights” and what I saw of “The Larry Sanders Show.” Heck, I even chuckled at “Celtic Pride” and saw “The Cable Guy” opening weekend. Aside from the latter, most people didn’t see much of Apatow’s work, but those who had loved most of it. (more…)

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Tags: 40 Year Old Virgin, adam sandler, Funny People, James L. Brooks, judd apatow
Posted May 5th 2009 at 11:01 am in Entertainment | 12544264 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ccannon/2009/05/05/the-apatow-backlash/The+Inevitable+Apatow+Backlash2009-05-05+18%3A01%3A58Cam+Cannon