DVD Tuesday: It's Kind of a Funny Story

There are always movies that slip under the radar either due to bad marketing or a low budget. I hope to use this blog to expose some movies that you may have missed, but need to see.

Movie: It's Kind of a Funny Story

Starring: Emma Roberts, Zach Galifianakis, Keir Gilchrist

Released Date: September 26th, 2010

IMDB Tagline: A clinically depressed teenager gets a new start after he checks himself into an adult psychiatric ward.


It's Kind of a Funny story is really a movie about character, and less about plot. It's set in a mental ward of a New York hospital, and 90% of the movie takes place there, so it allows for a lot of development for each of our main characters. Bobby, played by the extremely talented Zach Galifianakis, looks out of place at first because he isn't your prototypical mental patient. He seems wise, calm, and more like he's on vacation then getting treatment. The subtle changes are wonderfully expressed by Galifianakis as he steals the movie. Galifianakis's charisma sells the audience on the Bobby character, but his underrated acting skills allow his arc to seem natural. His performance strengthens my theory that most comedic actors can give top level dramatic performances but most dramatic actors can't perform well in comedic roles. Dramatic actors get the grade-school gold star for effort, while comedic actors get Oscars. Best example is Tom Hanks, but that theory will be delved into another day.

But the heart of the movie is carried by Keir Gilchrist and Emma Roberts. The love story between the two teenage patients is both sweet and heartbreaking. Gilchrist and Roberts are pitch perfect in the roles. There's never a moment when you think, 'Oh, she would never go for him' or vise versa. Despite his solid performance, it's Roberts' vulnerability as Noelle that is the standout. Even though her screen time was less than her co-stars, Gilchrist and Galifianakis, she had me anticipating her next appearance. I do believe DNA plays a role in one's ability to be a top level actor and with her father (Eric Roberts) and aunt (Julia Roberts) already highly respected actors, it's only a matter of time before she is thought of as a leader of young Hollywood with the other Emmas -- Stone and Watson.

If you couldn't tell by my review, I highly recommend this movie, especially for readers who enjoy good writing and directing over plot heavy stories. It's not for people who need their movies to be depressing and raw. The story is lighter than say, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, but I don't believe the story is meant to show Craig (Gilchrist) is in any danger like Jack Nicholson's R.P. McMurphy in Cuckoos Nest, but rather that he's in his own head, and the ward gives him some prospective on his life. He meets people with real problems, and realizes that his life is not so bad -- a lesson most teenagers should learn.

Recommendation: Definitely rent this movie. It's worth a look.