Oh well. My ears probably wouldn't be able to take all the added raunchy language that the unrated version most likely offered (that or a penis or two... so basically I'm not missing much)).
Anyway. To the movie. I came in not really a huge fan of the "Apatow universe"or whatever the hell you might want to call it. 40 Year Old Virgin was OK, Superbad was OK, and I pretty much skipped out on all the rest. Not that I didn't enjoy myself or everything, but the two I saw (So Superbad really isn't *his* movie, but he produced and crap... so go with me) didn't really have a lot of substance. It was mainly a bunch of dumb jokes with a bit of sentiment wrapped in there as well so you "feel good". So when I heard about this film, I was intrigued because it seemed to be something that might be of more weight, something that I can actually sink my teeth into and think about... sure, the trailers sucked, but you know... I can overlook that.
So the fact that the film has had me thinking all day must be a good sign in some respect. Unfortunately, while I wasn't actively bored or not enjoying myself, I'm not sure if I really liked what I saw.
Part of me wonders exactly how autobiographical this movie is. I think it's been made clear in interviews that Seth Rogen's character was modeled after Apatow and his struggle to break through, but I wonder if Adam Sandler's character isn't also somewhat modeled after him. Because the film makes quite clear... as Sandler (the mega movie star comic) takes Rogen (the struggling improv kid) under his wing that given the right circumstances Rogen will turn into the same self-absorbed person that Sandler had become. Which leads me to believe that at least Apatow finds himself somewhat becoming the character that Sandler plays and somewhat fearful of that outcome. Cause Sandler's character is one side of the spectrum--self-centered in an environment that needs you to be self-centered in order to survive fame and continue making people laugh, and Rogen's character is on the opposite end--self-deprecating yet ultimately very warm-hearted (yada yada).
I think the most interesting moments come when Rogen's character finds himself on the way to becoming like Sandler--cutting out his friend on a deal to write jokes for Sandler--but they seem to be pretty few and far between, because the second half seems to concentrate on the romance between Sandler and Leslie Mann--his former fling now married with kids. The rest of the movie seems to hint at the fact that Sandler--while still narcissistic--is showing rays of light that he might not be completely cold hearted yet. Then the film zeroes in on Sandler and Mann's relationship, and pretty much completely destroys that. Both Sandler and Mann seem completely conceited in their dalliance that they completely forget that they are about to DESTROY A FAMILY, and while I guess the film is smart enough to realize that it shouldn't be encouraging us to be cheering for them, it still grinds the film down to a halt.
Also, it has a lot of the really frustrating and contrived "meaningful" scenes. The one that bothers me is the scene where Rogen creates an iTunes playlist for Sandler in an effort to cheer him up. As the scene went on, I could pretty much count down what was going to be played... first song was going to be the one that Sandler doesn't like, second song is going to be a schlocky song for humorous effect, and then the third song is going to MEAN SOMETHING and speak to Sandler about how LONELY and SAD he is, promptly changing his life FOREVER and crap. What is this, Garden State?
I still somewhat enjoyed it though. I'm thinking a large part of that is because Rogen's character is stuck in a crappy job at the deli while dreaming of bigger and better things. Sort of like me, except... you know, the whole "the character actually *does* something about it" part, while I just sit around and expect that one day I'll rich for some reason or another without any effort whatsoever.
It's a good expectation to have, I think.
RATING:
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