'Funny People', Diverse Men

Ok, so 'Funny People' isn't really that funny. But that is ok, I didn't really expect it to be. I actually really appreciate a serious movie about comedy; what it means, why we use it, what we think is funny and why.

The reason I am blogging about 'FP' is Apatow's ability to write white male characters (in this case, Jew as an ethnicity counts a white...although I will get to that as well). Let me first say that although I'm over then, the plethora of dick/ball/cock jokes has to mean something...and I think it signifies American male's uneasiness with their gender identity. Apatow then uses that uneasiness to set up his wide array of male characters. On one side of the spectrum you have the seemingly soul-less, lover of penis humor Sandler character. This guy swears and has sex more frequently than he drinks water. His foil is Seth Rogan's quiet, sensitive and a bit unconfident character who wants to wait two months before doing a woman (what a gentleman). The men in between are a little cocky, a little dirty and both have their lives figured out and are in limbo at the same time. I imagine that if I were a man, I would find a guy in this movie that I would identify with. And that I would like.

Well, as long as I am a white guy. The totality of the men of color in this movie are a black ex-convict who calls his friends 'nigger' and his wife 'bitch' and an India guy who swaggers (I mean) swaggas and talks like a gangster (ugh, I did it again!)-gangasta. REALLY JUDD?!

REALLY?!?!?! I get that white men are your target audience but, BOO.

He also deals with ethnicity in an Australian man who seems to be pretty much like Sandler's character (I didn't make that up-they said it in the movie!) and all the Jewish characters. But the Jew men really just use their Jewness to make jokes about bar mitzvah. And body hair.

Bottom line: If you are a nice white guy looking for some affirmation, go see it. If you are interested in thinking about why we laugh and what we laugh at, so see it. Just leave once the airport scene starts 'cause the movie goes downhill from there.