It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)

"It's Kind of a Funny Story" is a refreshing antidote to the seemingly endless parade of movies and T.V. shows about teen angst.

In it, Keir Gilchrist, in a winning performance, plays a young teen who's vaguely depressed for reasons he can't explain, is overwhelmed by the seriousness of the world in which he lives and even harbors the occasional thought of suicide. Thinking himself seriously messed up, he checks himself into a mental ward for a five-day stint, only to find out once there that he's nowhere nearly as screwed up as he thinks he is -- certainly not as screwed up as the other people on the ward who deserve to be there -- and that he's not suffering from anything that pretty much every other human being on the planet doesn't suffer from from time to time.

The lessons he learns will sound pretty familiar and sound like a summary of lines spoken by Ruth Gordon in "Harold and Maude." They're all about living life instead of being afraid of it, doing what makes you happy, and not letting others life your life for you. But though the moral of the story is as ordinary as morals come, it's delivered in a charming way, and the movie overall is extremely easy to like.

Grade: B+

Fmovies: This is a slightly fun movie, but do not expect laughing your guts out. It's a almost a teenage romantic comedy placed in a different environment than the regular college movies. It has good characters and decent casting,and they will grow on you easily. Also, I appreciate such characters that are very enjoyable even if they don;t have more than 2-3 lines, such as Muqtada or Solomon. You may not remember this movie next year, but you might be hearing a friend sayin to you "get up, Muqtada" if you don;t want to get up from your bed :). This is a good 2010 movie, with a low budget,low commercial expectations but with great feedback. Despite dealing with depression issues, the atmosphere is positive and delivers a good feel at the end. Nice to see this kind of movies from time to time.

A depressed teen admits himself into a psych ward & meets some colorful folks.

Complex issues switched up and told in a free-spirited way. There's nothing sugar-coated about these characters, which is probably why I like them so much. Pluses for having them relate to our current society; these characters could be someone on your own street.

With a narrative & creative style similar to 500 Days of Summer, this is an oddly inspirational tale.

Comic relief provided by the excellent Zack Galifianakis.

Great music, great film!

It's Kind of a Funny Story fmovies. See It Now! Critical Perspective: B+ Personal Perspective: A

This is a film about second chances and in particular giving yourself a second chance. We all get very overwhelmed and stressed out because of our very busy and hectic lives, however, sometimes you just need to step back and give yourself a break from all of the drama in the world and focus on what is really important to you in your life. After a little thought all of the things that stress us out on a daily basis become very petty and unimportant and the things with true meaning and value in our lives shines through. "It's Kind of a Funny Story" is a film based off of the 2006 novel by Ned Vizzini of the same name. The story follows a boy named Craig (Keir Gilchrist) on a five day self-discovery journey in a psychiatric hospital he checks himself into after dealing with depression in his stressful life. He is guided with the help of his doctor Eden Minerva (Viola Davis; Oscar Nomination for "Doubt") and fellow patient Bobby (Zach Galifianakis; "The Hangover"). These two relationships along with a very special girl named Noelle (Emma Roberts) change Craig's life.

The Good: The film follows its genre as a dramatic comedy very well and isn't over sentimental or Hollywoodized at all. Instead it is everything you would want a film with the title "It's Kind of a Funny Story" to be. It really is kind of a funny story and a very good story with some very serious undertones. Overall, the acting in the film is very fulfilling and the variety of different character personas' of the patients mesh very well in a perfect comedic melody. However, Zach Galifianakis is the biggest name actor in the film and steals the spotlight whenever the camera is on him. He plays a character that is very hard to describe. He is both troubled and enlightened, dramatic and comedic, and optimistic and pessimistic. What ever he is, all of the other characters feed off of his energy and look up to him on screen. Galifianekis is joined by Keir Gilchrist (Craig) Lauren Grahm (Craig's Mother), Jim Gaffigan (Craig's Father), Emma Roberts (Noelle), Thomas Mann (Aaron) and Zoe Kravitz (Nia). The cast is supported by a very well written adapted screenplay by Anna Fleck and Anna Boden that will make you laugh and cry.

The Bad: The actress, Zoe Kravitz, does not do a very good job playing Nia, Craig's love interest from before he meets Noelle in the psychiatric hospital. She is a very annoying, stereotypical, stuck up girl that just isn't very believable. It is very hard to believe that Craig would actually like her especially because she is his best friend, Aaron's girlfriend. It is also hard to believe that Aaron is his best friend because he does not seem to treat Craig very good and does not act as a very good friend towards him. This makes both of these relationships to be very unimportant to the overall story.

Final Thought: We all could use a five day break from our lives so we can just enjoy the moment and relax without following a strict schedule that forces us to rush around. We all need contemplate the quotation that Craig's doctor Eden Minerva states at the beginning of the film, "Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The courage to change the things I can. And the wisdom to know the difference." Go to the theater and See It Now, the film that avoids the typical clichés of the psychiatric hospital comedy and it may just inspire you too.

The real treat about this movie is the performance from Zach Galifianakis and Emma Roberts. Both of them do a superb job, and left me wanting even more. The entire script is actually funny, and I mean funny as in you will be giggling the entire movie. This movie just makes you feel good, it makes you want to experience life even more. It has a great message, and keeps to the plot of the book a lot better then most adapted screenplays. Going back to the acting performance though, it really is something. While Zach Galifianakis usually plays the oddball in blockbuster comedies, he does a FANTASTIC job being a psych ward patient who is absolutely hilarious. Emma Roberts shocked me, to be honest. I've only seen her in Nancy Drew and a small glimpse in her Tween TV show "Unfabulous" in which her acting was borderline on being downright awful. In this movie, she completely breaks out of that role, and jumps into one that the people who aren't the ages of 10-13 and female will actually like! Several times during the movie i honestly didn't believe it was the same girl. She really does a great job. The bottom line is that this movie is great. It's not the best, but it is a movie worth seeing that has a very good story and great acting to complement it. See. This. Movie.

Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden are, in this reviewer's opinion, the best writer / director team working in film today. Both Half Nelson and Sugar (Which made my top 5 for 2008) were good and here they go more mainstream and produce a simple yet vibrant low-fi comedy. If you go expecting the Hangover, a full on comedy, then this might take some adjusting to - it is more than that. It reminded us most of the same vibe Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist had.

Craig (Keir Gilchrist) is an angsty teen and checks himself into a psych ward for 5 days. He is excellent, like a cross between Justin Long and Michael Cera and should get good work off the back of this. Here Craig meets the wizened Bobby (Zack Galifianakis), who has a complete emotional range here, his hangdog is perfect and watched closely you'll see every thought and facial gesture with real pleasure, and a teenage girl his age, Noelle (Emma Roberts). The supporting cast have groupworked this really well and it all just gels nicely. The film is a journey of self- discovery.

What lifts this is it doesn't have a mean bone in its body yet delivers beautifully - this film is firstly, optimistic about pessimism and abounds with humor, laughter, and originality, and secondly, Fleck again coxes the the actors to simply act, without excess.

It does a wonderful balancing act of making us see the world afresh too. In addition to all this it is totally refreshing to see a teen movie that is about teens and their world and not just another slapstick sex comedy.

I could only wish for 20 films a year like this, rather than the cookie cutter production values that govern Hollywood. The common trait in all three films are honesty, struggle, and eventually, something more. That's three in a row for Fleck / Boden - and I, for one, can't wait to see the fourth...