Writers: Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden, Ned Vizzini (author)
Starring: Kier Gilchrist, Zach Glaifinakis, Emma Roberts
Release Date: October 8, 2010
Length: 1 hour 45 minutes
Writers/Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck deliver one of my favourite novels to the big screen starring Kier Gilchrist and Zach Galifinakis. This is probably the film I was most excited to see at the Toronto International Film Festival this year, but did this dark comedy succeed in the same way the sophisticated novel did? After almost trying to kill himself, sixteen year old, Craig Gilner (Kier Gilchrist) checks himself into a mental ward at a nearby hospital. There he meets much more suicidal and crazier people than himself, including a middle-aged lowlife, Bobby (Zach Galifinakis) and a scar-faced, 16 year old girl, Noelle (Emma Roberts). During his five-day stay, Craig learns more about life and love than he ever knew before. Although many people do not know him, I am a very big fan of Kier Gilchrist, from United States of Tara, with Toni Collette, where he plays her gay son. I thought he was the perfect choice for the role of Craig because his acting comes off very real and natural usually. However, in the many scenes where he talks to his therapist or a doctor or he narrates the scene with a voice-over, I didn’t find myself believing him. Whether it was the directing or the writing that just didn’t click, I didn’t identify with his character like I did in the book, especially during the scenes, where he tries to explain what’s going on in his head. I much more enjoyed the scenes with Zach Galifinakis, not just because he was funny (which we all expect from him), but also because he gave an exceptional performance. First of all, we have never seen Galifinakis in a dramatic role before, for the few roles we’ve seen him in so far. He somehow seemed to blend and mix humor and character depth so well together, that he brought out the most laughs and sympathy from the audience. I’m unsure if Galifinakis is trained as a dramatic actor, but he sure looked like he knew what he was doing. Even though I didn’t love what I got out of Gilchrist, I still thought the love story between Craig and Noelle was quite sweet. He and Roberts shared a cute chemistry together that compensated for the parts I didn’t enjoy or was bored by. One of the things that bugged me a lot about this movie was that the setting and tone of the film rarely changed. In the book, he would have flashbacks and the story had a tempo to it. In the movie, there are many scenes, where Craig is talking to his doctor, then talking to Bobby, then talking to his roommate all one after another. Beside’s Galifinakis’ performance, I felt the same way about the movie the whole way through. For me, there was no climax or emotional change in the film. Boden and Fleck certainly kept the same uniqueness the novel had, in the way Craig thought and dreamt, but still not one thing measured up, which is usually the case with movie adaptations of novels. For someone, who hasn’t read the book, you will love it for its versatility and interesting concept. If you have read the book, you’re just going to on want it to be better than it is. It’s Kind Of A Funny Story did not rise to my high expectations, but is still a good movie.
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