“Do you like music?”
“Do you like breathing?”
I honestly can’t remember where I heard about this movie the first time, I think I found it at HMV for 5$ and this was when I was going through my Emma Roberts phase. Well lets be honest, the phase hasn’t ended. I read the back of the cover and I was super into it, so ended up picking it up and throwing it in and enjoying it a lot. Having my share of emotional ups and downs from depression from time to time, I definitely found a lot of solace and inspiration from this movie, so it was an easy choice for an Inspirational Movie Monday for me.
It’s Kind Of A Funny Story is a Comedy, Drama, Romance film about a clinically depressed teenager gets a new start after he checks himself into an adult psychiatric ward.
The film is written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, and its based off the novel of the same name by Ned Vizzini. This section will be very short as this is the only film I have watched that was written and directed by this duo. I thought that they did a great job with the direction and writing of this movie. There were great moments of comedy, but other moments where you really were emotional and felt what the struggling character was feeling. I thought that some characters were developed a lot more than other characters in this movie so it was a little unbalanced in that respect. The directing was very simple, which I think worked well because if they had extremely flashy camera work and such, then it would take away from the message of the movie.
The film stars Keir Gilchrist as Craig, Zach Galifianakis as Bobby, and Emma Roberts as Noelle.
Keir Gilchrist’s filmography consists of Dead Silence (2007), and It Follows (2014). I really like this guys acting, he always plays the timid typical teenager, and plays it so well. I could really relate to his character in the film, as he reminded me a lot of myself. I’m a rather shy person, but if you can get me one on one or if you can get me to talk about stuff I’m interested in, I’ll open up more. I thought he did a good job in this movie.
Zach Galifianakis’s filmography consists of Out Cold (2001), Corky Romano (2001), Bubble Boy (2001), Into The Wild (2007), Up In The Air (2009), The Hangover (2009), Due Date (2010), The Muppets (2011), The Hangover Part II (2011), The Hangover Part III (2013), Are You Here (2013), and Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance) (2014). Galifanakis is always an interesting actor to watch. He can play any type of role he wants, whether its comedy or drama, and anything in-between. I thought he played his role well, he was monotone but had genuine moments of being hilarious and spouting one liners that makes the audience chuckle, but he also has moments of complete turns where he gets angry or frustrated, and you feel for him and side with him. I thought this was one of his best films, it stroked an almost perfect balance of drama and comedy. Its also nice to see him do a role that isn’t just comedy, so he can stretch his acting legs more.
Emma Roberts’s filmography consists of Blow (2001), Scream 4 (2011), The Art Of Getting By (2011), Nerve (2016), and Scream Queens (TV Series: 2015-). I think Emma Roberts is fantastic in anything she does, thats all there is too it. Nerve was one of my favourite films of last year, and I wouldn’t have seen it if she wasn’t in it, she was definitely my biggest draw to the film, and I ended up really liking it. I thought she was great in It’s Kind Of A Funny Story, I thought that her role as Noelle was very well crafted, she was funny but serious, she was sad but happy. I think this also was one of her best roles and I thought she really captured her character well.
The acting in this movie is really great, its super interesting to see everyone of the actors turns from being “normal and happy” to being “depressed and frustrated.” I thought it was an excellent ideal to the thoughts people have who are struggling and who have these surges of moods, I felt like they captured it wrong.
I thought the soundtrack to his movie was also great, it was a great mix of many different genres of music, like rock and alternative and indie, and it was just really well balanced. There was a great scene where the people who are in the psychiatric ward have a jam session with music and they play Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie. I thought this was a great use of the song and a great moment in the movie that really under lined the message the film was trying to get across.
This movie was inspiring for sure, it showed me that its okay to have these depressive moods, that you are not any less of a human when you feel sad or depressed. It was also inspiring how it showed that it was completely and utterly okay to talk about your feelings and that letting someone else into your world to help you or to talk to you about your life and your downs, that having someone else to outlet too, to make understand makes all the difference. Each different character inspired me in a different way, as each character was dealing with a different mental illness, and you could side with one character more than another depending on your mood as a viewer. Its a simple story, set in a completely different setting, and I think depending on how you think or your experience with mental health, your opinion would be different and you may end up getting a completely different message or experience out of it.
This is a short review but too the point.
It’s Kind Of a Funny Story gets a 3.5/5 from me.
Until next time, stay inspired!
-Andrew