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News / Columns / Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus: Funny People Is Ambitious But Uneven
Plus, guess the Tomatometers for Aliens in the Attic and The Collector.
by Tim Ryan | July 30, 2009
Discuss Article

This week at the movies, we've got the tears of a clown (Funny People, starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen), extra-terrestrial visitors upstairs (Aliens in the Attic, starring Kevin Nealon and Tim Meadows), and a robbery gone wrong (The Collector, starring Josh Stewart and Madeline Zima). What do the critics have to say?


68%
Template Image
Fresh

Funny People

With Funny People, Judd Apatow is attempting to walk a fine line: keep 'em laughing while documenting the trials of a famous comedian staring death in the face. Critics say the results are uneven: the film is stellar (and hilarious) for much of its running time, but stumbles in its long third act. Adam Sandler stars as George Simmons, a famous (but lonely) funnyman who's been diagnosed with a terminal disease. He teams up with a younger stand-up comic (Seth Rogen) and tries to reconnect with a long-lost sweetheart (Leslie Mann), attempting (but often failing) to become a better person in the process. The pundits say Funny People features excellent performances (especially Sandler) and some sharp insights into the life of a performer. However, some of the scribes feel the movie runs a bit too long, and a late plot development strikes many as contrived. (Check out this week's Total Recall, in which we count down Apatow's best-reviewed productions.)


29%
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Rotten

Aliens in the Attic

It appears Aliens in the Attic is light-years beyond the critics, as it wasn't screened prior to release. The movie tells the tale of a group of kids who discover hostile extraterrestrial life upstairs, and are forced to defend the planet themselves when their oblivious parents don't believe them. Kids, guess that Tomatometer!


25%
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Rotten

The Collector

The folks behind The Collector must have assumed it wouldn't acquire many positive reviews, since it was barely screened for the pundits. This thriller tells the story of a man who plans to rob a house, before discovering a much more sinister figure has taken over the domicile. Again, guess that Tomatometer!


Also opening this week in limited release:

  • The Sweedish import You, the Living, a stylistically bold collection of darkly comic vignettes from director Roy Andersson, is at 100 percent.
  • Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! , a documentary about the wild Aussie exploitation films of the 1970s and 1980s, is at 97 percent.
  • The Cove, an investigative documentary about threats to the habitat of dolphins, is at 90 percent.
  • Chan Wook Park's Thirst, about a priest who becomes a vampire, is at 84 percent.
  • The Dardenne brothers' Lorna's Silence, about a financially-strapped young woman who is ensnared by the underworld, is at 82 percent.
  • Flame & Citron, about a Danish family's efforts in the resistance against the Nazis in World War II, is at 79 percent.
  • Adam, starring Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne in a romantic comedy about an enigmatic young man who meets a worldly young woman, is at 67 percent.
  • Fragments, starring Kate Beckinsale and Guy Pearce in a drama about the survivors of a shooting spree, is at 56 percent.
  • Ghosted, a drama about an artist who falls for a mysterious woman, is at zero percent.

Related Items
Movie: Fragments
Ghosted
Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!
Thirst
The Cove
Flame & Citron
Adam
You, the Living
Lorna's Silence
Aliens in the Attic
The Collector
Bookmark and Share
Comments (1-20 of 26 posts) | Reply
Bigbrother
Bigbrother writes:
on Jul 30 2009 05:23 PM

That's a shame that it dropped off late like that, but I'll still go to see it because of other Apatow works that have had similar or worse ratings that I still enjoyed immensely.

(Reply to this)
Logan A.
Logan A. writes:
on Jul 30 2009 05:32 PM

Damn, I had HIGH hopes for Funny People. I'm still going to see it though.

(Reply to this)
fullmetal_medji
fullmetal_medji writes:
on Jul 30 2009 05:36 PM

Little worried about the Funny ppl tomatometer, but Apatow and sandler usually deliver so I'll see it. I'm curious about You, The Living but there's one problem with it: Critic Armond White (even worse than Ben Lyons) gave it a positive review. His good reviews are movies u shouldn't see and his bad review are movies u should see. It still looks good though. Aliens in the Attic Tomatometer will be around 24%. White will probably give this a positive review too :(

(Reply to this)
Ico fan
Ico fan writes:
on Jul 30 2009 05:38 PM

Eh, Smart People looks like its filled with funny one-liners but we all now this is an Apatow production so its going to get all serious in the third act, but I geuss any movie where Adam Sandler dies is worth the price of admission.

If I want to see a smart comedy I think I'll check out 500 Days Of Summer. I just can't figure out who I want to invite to go with me. It looks like the kind of movie where if you take a date you double your chances of getting laid.


(Reply to this)
Defmonkey
Defmonkey writes:
on Jul 30 2009 06:03 PM

Damn, so I guess its going to get sad in the end?

Thank god the theater is usually dark...


(Reply to this)
707PG13
707PG13 writes:
on Jul 30 2009 06:15 PM

@CtrlAltDestroy

LOL....Hope you get lucky dude.


(Reply to this)
ARTaylor
ARTaylor writes:
on Jul 30 2009 06:19 PM

Depending on how it does this weekend and what people say I might see Funny People. It looks as though it has potential.

I'm guessing 10% for Aliens, and that's being generous. Maybe 20% for Collector.


(Reply to this)
Bigbrother
Bigbrother writes:
on Jul 30 2009 06:36 PM

In reply to this comment (#2532081)
Just don't ctiticize her technique until its over negative nancy. I hear they hate that.

(Reply to this)
Chris B.
Chris B. writes:
on Jul 30 2009 06:54 PM

I'm still going to see Funny People regardless.

I'll guess 20% to 25% for Aliens in the Attic and 40% to 45% for The Collector.


(Reply to this)
Iceman Cometh
Iceman Cometh writes:
on Jul 30 2009 07:27 PM

Aliens: 23%
Collector: 14%

Planning on seeing Funny People this weekend, no matter what the final tomatometer is at.


(Reply to this)
MovieMaster
MovieMaster writes:
on Jul 30 2009 07:31 PM

Still going to see Funny People despite a somewhat lower tomatometer. And I'd say 12% for Aliens in the Attic and 7% for The Collector.

(Reply to this)
man in the water
man in the water writes:
on Jul 30 2009 07:38 PM

I'll be seeing Lorna's Silence nd Funny People this week. Maybe even The Collector, I think it looks pretty good. Aliens should have been staright to video.
Aliens: 7%
The Collector: 55%


(Reply to this)
King Kubrick
King Kubrick writes:
on Jul 30 2009 08:49 PM

I'm signed on for funny people. I enjoy mindless humor and levity as much as the next guy. But foremost I likes my humor dark (think doctor strangelove and a clockwork orange). The fact the tomato meter isn't as high as other apatow directed endeavors gives me hope he might go for the full on black comedy. But if he pulls the punches in the end I'll probably leave the theater disappointed at the wasted potential.

(Reply to this)
ledawg1138
ledawg1138 writes:
on Jul 30 2009 08:53 PM

"Aliens in the Attic" - 97 percent...

8 percent.


(Reply to this)
King Kubrick
King Kubrick writes:
on Jul 30 2009 08:57 PM

In reply to this comment (#2532116)
ha ha. I think the site might collapse if that happened...nay the universe may implode

(Reply to this)
will s.
will s. writes:
on Jul 31 2009 12:15 AM

i've read the negative reviews of funny people, and it seems that the critiques are much more in-depth than those of others comedies. it goes to show how far apatow's films transcend other big comedies. even the bad reviews seem somewhat complimentary, if only because they treat it like a real film rather than some crapshow.

(Reply to this)
knowingtoast85
knowingtoast85 writes:
on Jul 31 2009 03:00 AM

I walked out totally understanding the issues that critics had with the movie, and not minding those issues as much. It's a departure, it's funny, it's mature, it's different, it's self-aware (sometimes, I'll admit, painfully self-aware). Give it a shot and if you don't like it, I understand.

Sandler's the best he's ever been in it, too. And yes, I like PDL.


(Reply to this)
martinscorsese25
martinscorsese25 writes:
on Jul 31 2009 03:29 AM

there are some films where you totally disregard what the critics say...


and i think Funny People is one of them.... i have no doubt that Funny People will be better than a 77% rated Role Models, which is a good movie, but c'mon? 77%? really?


(Reply to this)
Canuck666
Canuck666 writes:
on Jul 31 2009 03:54 AM

Overall Funny People seemed to have the right mix of comedy and drama, at least for me (although it is a bit overlong).
The Collector - 32%
Aliens in the Attic - 11%


(Reply to this)
Slipperypick
Slipperypick writes:
on Jul 31 2009 08:30 AM

20% for Aliens... 16% for Collector...

(Reply to this)
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