"Funny" People?

Saw "Funny People" today. With its all-star cast of Adam Sandler, Seth Rogan, and other Judd Apatow staples, I expected a very good movie. It came, but with a few hitches.

Adam Sandler was funny in a movie for the first time since "Anger Management." After several bombs, this was an attempt to regain relevance, and he was quite good. Rogan was bumped to a secondary role, but he handled it with grace, and his interactions with supporting actors like Jonah Hill brought belly laughs to the theater.

The main focus, though, was on Sandler's character struggling with the hand he dealt himself throughout life. There were many times where he played the role of battered douchebag well, and a few other times where we were reminded that this was the same actor whose performances in movies like "Spanglish" drew laughs for the wrong reasons. Still, for the most part, he delivered a great performance.

The main problem I had with this movie was that it was WAY too long. It clocks in at 2 hours and 16 minutes, and there's a reason most comedies don't go much longer than an hour and a half. They simply lose steam, and while there were numerous subplots that beefed up the length of "Funny People," I felt the movie could have been half an hour shorter very easily. Was it hurt by the added length? Not too much, but it surely wasn't helped.

Still, it lives up to the hype. Adam Sandler catches a second wind in his career, while Apatow and his favorite actors do their best to beef up the movie. You'll see where it drags, but there are plenty of laughs to keep you interested, for the most part. RATING: ***3/4