ViewGuide

Created May 02, 2010 09:17AM PST • Edited May 02, 2010 09:17AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Great 4.0

   I remember reading interviews with Judd Apatow around the time this movie was set to come out. His track record was pristine. The 40 year old Virgin, Knocked Up were his comedy classic directorial efforts. His producer credits involved Talladega Nights, Anchorman, Freaks and Geeks, and Undeclared. The man was fast becoming a God among men when it came to this particular type of comedy. Interviews with Judd about funny People were interesting. Words like “long”, “personal”, “drama”, “indulgent”, “semi-autobiographical”, and “different” came up. For a man who seemed so bent on touching upon a certain comedic ground and had succeeded so well within its confines, these words were either going to prove how unstoppable he is as a comedic force or become his first miss with audiences. Unfortunately it was the second one, which is a shame because this may well be the best of his three films, if not the easiest one to watch again and again.

4. Acting

   Perfect 5.0

   One thing Judd Apatow did perfectly was get performances out his actors. This may very well be the greatest performance of Adam Sandler’s career (not saying a whole lot), giving an interestingly real level of gravitas to a role you would think he could and would be able to play in his sleep. Seth Rogen proves he’s not just four letter words and shouting when it comes to his acting prowess, providing a very real role that in a perfect world would lead to him getting work outside of his comfort zone. Leslie Mann (Apatow’s wife) gives a performance that one would think would reinvigorate a career that never took off like expected yet never fizzled out either. The rest of the cast (jonah Hill not shouting vulgarities all film, Jason Schwartzman in a great low key role, Aziz Ansari in a small yet wholly satisfying part, and many others including the best use of eminem since 8Mile) give this film an easy quality despite the semi-serious nature of the plotline.

5. Male Stars Perfect 5.0

6. Female Stars Perfect 5.0

7. Female Costars Perfect 5.0

8. Male Costars Perfect 5.0

10. Film

    Really Great 4.5

    Judd Apatow’s writing is always top notch, and his directing is elevated from typical comedy trappings to something much more akin to being described as beautiful. the cinematography is perfectly balanced to give the film a level of sturdiness as well as air so that it is never steeped to heavily in its more somber tones. Like mentioned above, the acting may be what most people truly remember about this film (Sandler, once again, is perfectly cast in the role, as it was written for him) but the true stars of the film may actually be the people behind the scenes, since this film looks and feels gorgeous. you really can tell that every penny went into making the film look brilliant.

11. Direction Really Great 4.5

12. Play Really Great 4.5

13. Music Really Great 4.5

14. Visuals Really Great 4.5
15. Content

16. Edge

    Sordid 3.0

    When typing this up, I felt as if the sex and rudeness were going to make this film a difficult one to recommend to people. Fortunately that is not the case, as the sex in the film is far more implied than I recall upon initial viewing, and despite the rudeness of the jokes, there is never a real level of gross out factor to the film, unless you are the kind who enjoys visualization with your comedy (and a good stand-up comedian should be able to make that happen for you anyway). Yes being a hard R stand-up comedy based movie, there are a lot of risque topics, and they are discussed in grand (and sometimes gritty) detail, yet it is is difficult to warn people about something as explicit as dialogue when the whole of the film is genuine and filled with heart. There is very little violence save for a fight scene about 2 hours in, and all of the sex (once again) is discussed, mentioned, and implied, yet you never see anything beyond gestures. I wouldn’t exactly allow my child to watch the film until he was older for some of the content, but there is a lot worse out there.

17. Sex Erotic 3.3

18. Violence Fierce 1.6

19. Rudeness Nasty 4.2

21. Reality

    Glib 1.5

    Wow. the level f surreal in this film is almost nonexistent. this is a “semi-autobiographica” film from Judd Apatow, a man who, despite some examples I’m sure people could handily point out, keeps things fairly grounded. Yes there are moments where people act in ways that may make some go “oh Yeah RIGHT!” but such is the case with life, and that is exactly what the film strives for. Everything that happens in this film could easily happen in the real world without much issue and while that makes not for the greatest laugh riot, it can easily make for a greater association for the viewer. All said, this feels like a real world that could be inhabited by the audience without problem or question, which is what the filmmakers tried to do. Theres not much in the way of overt fictional thinking throughout the running time, for better or worse.

22. Circumstantial Glib 1.5

23. Biological Glib 1.5

24. Physical Glib 1.5