Funny People

The funny people of Judd Apatow's serio-comedy are comedians, and he knows the culture well. Back in the day, Apatow was an aspiring comic rooming with Adam Sandler. Now he draws on both of their lives for this story of a former stand-up star turned movie superstar (Sandler) and a struggling young comedian (Seth Rogen) he hires as a gag writer and on-call buddy. Sandler is arrogant yet oddly likable as the isolated superstar, but the film really comes alive in the messy culture of young comedians trying to make their name in comedy clubs. All versions feature both the theatrical version and an extended unrated version (which runs seven minutes longer).

Each version features commentary by Apatow and stars Sandler and Rogen (a lively and funny track of three comedians swapping their own showbiz stories) and a gag reel, but the special editions are indeed something special. The "Collector's Edition" features the 75-minute "Funny People Diaries," a first-person making-of documentary guided by director Apatow, plus more short featurettes, archival clips of early stand-up performances by Sandler and Rogen (before his voice broke!) and the Apatow DVD staples: deleted scenes, extended and alternate scenes, and the "Line-O-Rama" montage of alternate punch lines. The Blu-ray promises even more deleted scenes and extended footage.