Funny People: 2-Disc Unrated Collector’s Edition (R/NR, 2009, Universal)
“Funny People” is, inarguably, a movie. Whether it’s actually two movies, though, is a little more open to interpretation. “People” begins as a cross-section of the depressing backstage life and times of two comedians — supermarket employee and total nobody Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) and jaded movie megastar George Simmons (Adam Sandler) — whose separate inabilities to successfully participate in society run somewhat parallel in spite of their disparate career successes. When the two cross paths by chance, “People” zooms in a little closer and becomes both a buddy picture and, due to plot circumstances best left unspoiled, an especially unflattering look at one character’s uncanny gift of all-fronts alienation. Some more unspoiled events happen, things reach something of a conclusion, and if “People” barely changed a thing about its first 85 minutes and wrapped right there, few would accuse it of being an unfinished product. But it doesn’t, marching merrily on for another hour-plus of storytelling to clock in at 146 (or, for the unrated cut, 153) minutes, which is unheard of for what humbly begins as just another Judd Apatow comedy. And with so much good storytelling done already and, as it turns out, so much left to do, why not? “People” never runs on fumes and never compromises between being very funny, very cruelly honest and very intelligently heartfelt. More of that is never a bad thing, especially now that you can hit pause whenever you need an intermission. Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, Aubrey Plaza and Jason Schwartzman also star.
Extras: Theatrical and unrated cuts, Apatow introduction, Apatow/Rogen/Sandler commentary, deleted/extended scenes, four-part making-of documentary, George Simmons retrospective (will make sense after seeing the film), an episode of “Yo Teach…!” (same), uncut Sandler prank call (same), documentary about Randy (same), outtakes, bloopers, line-o-rama.
Familiar Strangers (PG-13, 2008, Phase 4 Films)
As history has shown umpteen time through umpteen films about a son (Shawn Hatosy as Brian) returning home to reopen old familial wounds over a hot Thanksgiving meal, there are numerous ways to steer this ship. Given the wealth of baggage — divorce, father-son alienation, failed expectations on multiple levels — passed between the six people and two dogs who comprise the immediate Worthington family, “Familiar Strangers” easily could have taken the road repeatedly traveled and devolved into a depressing tidal wave of bottled feelings finally uncorked. Instead, and to its great benefit, it elects to toe a very fine line between garden-variety drama and a general disposition that’s dryly funny enough to make that garden-variety drama more interesting in practice than on paper. “Strangers” neither breaks the mold nor aces the exam: Its devotion to that balance sometimes comes at the expense of a few supporting characters, who flash promise early but ultimately feel like devices for helping color Brian’s story. But while that approach breeds some narrative dissatisfaction, it also help Brian emergence as that rare character who is funny, engaging and very likable despite also being kind of a dullard. And how many holiday films legitimately culminate through a game of donkey basketball? Only one, and this is it. Tom Bower, Ann Dowd, Cameron Richardson, Georgia Mae Lively and Nikki Reed also star.
Extra: Behind-the-scenes feature.
Is Anybody There? (PG-13, 2009, Magnolia)
Like many people incapable of taking complete care of themselves, Edward (Bill Milner) lives in a nursing home. Also arguably unsurprising: Edward has parlayed a bored existence into a fascination with morbidity, going so far as to attempt communication with the dead. But Edward isn’t near the end of his life — he’s 10, and the only reason he lives here is because his parents (Anne-Marie Duff and David Morrissey), who themselves are going through a spot of disenchantment, run the thing. And when a slightly senile, very cranky washed-up magician (Michael Caine as Clarence) enters the home kicking and screaming, “Is Anybody There?” becomes a bastion of people living lives they never counted on living. Impressively, though it flirts with both angles, “There” doesn’t take this occasion to bring its audience down any more than it uses it as a stage for darkly ironic comedy. Instead, it’s an honest, explicitly character-driven story that unloads more human interest than the 94-minute runtime can completely handle. Throw in another layer of interesting supporting and prop characters, and it becomes quickly clear that some of them aren’t going to get their full due. Fortunately, where it counts — a corrosive friendship between Edward and Clarence that finds Caine delivering some of the best lines of his career to an 11-year-old kid astonishingly capable of handling them — “There” is magnificently resonate success that doesn’t come around nearly enough.
Extra: Deleted scenes.
Evergreen (PG-13, 2004, Indiepix)
There is no such thing as an instruction manual for raising a child. But you’ll have to forgive 14-year-old Henri (Addie Land) for her waning sympathy for journeymom Kate (Cara Seymour), who has been carting her from one barely adequate living condition to another her whole life. This time, the leaky roof over their head is that of Henri’s grandmother (Lynn Cohen), whom Kate has enlisted to help raise Henri while she tries to find some kind of stable cash flow. The sympathy/longing quotients are further complicated when, as the new kid in yet another school, Henri strikes up a relationship with a kid (Noah Fleiss as Chat) who has both significantly greater means and a seemingly functional family who welcomes her into their lives. If you’ve hypothesized that “Evergreen” isn’t the knee-slapping laugh fest of the season, you done so correctly. But while “Evergreen” is a bleak movie about dead ends and promises seemingly destined to go unfulfilled, it takes on those topics in a fashion that’s more uncomfortably honest than cloyingly weepy. Henri and Kate in particular are developed to the point that their stories are involving in spite of their implied and seemingly inevitable dreary end, and the script has some rewards hiding in wait once that heavy lifting is done. Bruce Davison and Mary Kay Place also star.
Extra: Cast/crew bios.
Humpday (R, 2009, Magnolia)
A meandering conversation between intoxicated old friends Ben (Mark Duplass) and Andrew (Joshua Leonard) has turned into a serious dual dare: What would happen if the two straight friends shot a sex scene together and presented it at the pornographic art film festival that’s about to roll into town? A few other details worth noting: Ben is married, and Ben’s wife Anna (Alycia Delmore) had never even met Andrew until he unexpectedly showed up at their house in the middle of the night not even 24 hours prior. Also? The meandering conversation took flight during an impromptu party with strangers that went deep into the night while Ben’s wife waited at home with a dinner she prepared for the three of them. How’s that for a situation? “Humpday” has enough absorbing weirdness in its premise to coast to the credits on intrigue alone. So that’s what it does, electing for a conversational, almost documentarian storytelling style that allows the ensuing fallout to develop naturally and without twisty contrivance. The characters achieve dimension through rambling, imperfectly-delivered dialogue, and the rest of “Day’s” bone-dry manner, right down to the grainy cinematography, falls in line stylistically. The ultra-indie approach will inevitably annoy those who prefer a little gloss, but for what “Day” is trying to do here, it’s an uncomfortably enjoyable success.
Extras: Director/crew commentary, Duplass/Leonard commentary, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes feature.
Angels & Demons: Two-Disc Extended Edition (NR, 2009, Sony Pictures)
One person’s wall of blather is another person’s two-hour blockbuster thrill ride, and that person’s mindless fun is another person’s personal affront. So here’s something about “Angels & Demons” that’s pretty harmlessly universal: It’s exquisitely polished in all the usual Hollywood ways, and for being a companion piece to (though, per usual, no replacement for) a book that itself has brought more baggage to the table than all the marketing and word of mouth ever could, it does a respectable job. Corners, as usual, get cut when paring 480 pages down to 146 minutes, and a different set of eyes easily could spot chunks of “Demons” that run unnecessarily long for their cinematic purposes. Someone’s favorite portion of the book inevitably has been shortchanged, while those who see “Demons” without reading the book inevitably will roll their eyes at some wink at the readers that never receives any follow-up treatment. Other than the strange rearrangement of chronology — the film is a sequel to “The Da Vinci Code” despite the book being a prequel — nothing “Demons” does changes the trajectory of book-to-film translation history, making it a complete disappointment or a comfortably fun success depending on your expectations. At least, as with “Code,” we have a likable lead (Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon) to steer the whole weird ship. Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Pierfrancesco Favino and Stellan Skarsgård also star.
Extras: Seven behind-the-scenes features.