Keir Gilchrist - Craig
Emma Roberts - Noelle
Anna Boden / Ryan Fleck (Directors)
This film was a real treat. I was expecting the same of schtich from Zach G. worked into another quirky indie comedy. You know the type. "I'm weird, but your weird so weird is the new norm" kinda thing. This film did tap that well some, but not so much that it became a problem for me.
The film is about a 16 year old boy who is mildly considering killing himself. Instead he somewhat inadvertently checks into a mental institution where he is required to be there for 5 days minimum. His trouble are the same that every teen faces. Questions about the future, parents that don't understand them, feeling of inadequacy especially when dealing with the opposite sex. We are all the lead character in the movie in our own heads. While at the hospital he meets an interesting display of mentally challenged patients.
Where a grittier film would have made the patients more of a risk to him or them selves, and a quirkier film would have given each patient their own special characteristic, this movie seems to strike just the right tone. The others in the ward have specific characteristics, but they are not one dimensional. Everyone's problems seem real and it feel like they are being treated properly.
The star of the show is Keir Gilchrist. He is clearly the next Justin Long. But I was most suprised with Zach G. He really added depth and feeling to this character. He acted. He wasn't just the zany, mad caped "You never know what this guy will say" dude. He knocked this one out of the park. I have a totally new respect for Zach G.
There are a lot of cut aways of animation breaks, voice over 8mm footage, flash backs / flash forwards, Wes Anderson inspired montages. I didn't care for these as a whole. I think they were overused and they took me out of a story that I was invested in.
It would be total hyperbole to compare this film to Catcher in the Rye (my favorite book) but the themes are there in both. In my house every mental institution movie will undeniably be compared to One Flew Over the Coo Coo's Nest. Of course this film doesn't measure up, but neither does any other. It is a strong compliment to say that Funny Story is Coo Coo "light".
I have always said that Catcher in the Rye should be required reading for anyone trying to get their first drivers license. This film could be the new measure of that comment. I give It's Kind of a Funny Story ★★★1/2. Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.
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