Apatow's latest a slower, more mature comic tale of second chances

"Funny People" is a frequently hilarious and more frequently poignant story of three people foolish enough to need a second chance in life, and smart enough to seize it when it comes around.

This marks the third movie directed by the talented Judd Apatow, and it bears the signature elements of his earlier works "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up" - gross humor, funny and foul language, empathy for its flawed characters, and a refusal to employ a traditional Hollywood villain.

But there's something else in "Funny People." It's a more sophisticated, mature, assured and reflective work that suggests Apatow is evolving as a storyteller.

This is a long movie, 146 minutes, and it's not as crisp and peppy as it could be.

Nonetheless, it provides plenty of raucous, off-color jokes and character-driven humor, and it gives Adam Sandler a dare-to-be-great role that boldly satirizes his own career as a stand-up-comic-turned-movie-star.

For several years, the former "Saturday Night Live" comedian has flirted with performing a tough, crossover role that would confirm he has the chops to tackle something outside of his string of sophomoric hit comedies. His hotheaded hero in "Punch-Drunk Love" came close.

In "Funny People," Sandler pulls off his most controlled performance of a dark and layered character who gets away with sheer nastiness without alienating his audience.

Sandler plays George Simmons, a stand-up guy who has amassed a fortune by starring in goofy comedies with titles such as "Re-Do," "My Best Friend is a Robot" and "Mer-Man." A hedonist who gets virtually any woman he wants, he leads a seemingly perfect life.

Then he gets the bad news.

He has a rare form of leukemia. There is no known cure or prescribed treatment.

While digesting this bad news, George needs to replace his personal assistant. On a whim, he hires an unkempt, no-name comic he catches in a nightclub act. Ira Wright (Apatow regular Seth Rogen) is thrilled to get a paying job, and even more thrilled when the famous George Simmons wants him to write jokes for the star.

Ira hangs with two other struggling comics, Leo (Jonah Hill) and Mark (Jason Schwartzman), and their constant interplay, fun yet competitive, is one of the film's highlights.

Meanwhile, Ira discovers his relationship with the increasingly irritable George can be unpredictable and volatile. George doesn't have any friends or family, and his material riches can't conceal his emotional poverty.

Just when "Funny People" appears to sputtering out of narrative gas, it falls into a "the girl who got away" mode when George reconnects with an old flame Laura (Mrs. Apatow, the charming Leslie Mann) now living in Marin County with her Aussie hubby Clarke (Eric Bana) and their two daughters Ingrid and Mabel (played by the cute Apatow kids Iris and Maude).

George, believing Laura is his one and only, sets out to reclaim his love in a comical situation rife with potential clichés that Apatow, who also wrote the screenplay, deftly sidesteps.

"Funny People" has been photographed in bright and sparkling compositions by Chicago Columbia College grad Janusz Kaminski.

As a bonus, the film comes stuffed with organically peppered cameos by funny guys Ray Romano, Andy Dick, Sarah Silverman, Norm MacDonald, Paul Reiser, and even singer James Taylor and rapper Eminem.

A special mention goes to actor Torsten Voges, who plays the heavily accented doctor verbally beaten up by George during a routine office visit.

In most movies, this would have been a kissed-off bit part for an easy joke. But Voges returns later to provide "Funny People" with one of its funniest and most unexpected heartfelt moments.

Naturally. It's a Judd Apatow movie.

<p class="factboxheadblack">'Funny People'</p> <p class="News">Three stars (out of four)</p> <p class="News"><b>Starring:</b> Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill</p> <p class="News"><b>Directed by:</b> Judd Apatow</p> <p class="News"><b>Other:</b> A Universal Pictures release. Rated R (language, nudity, sexual situations). 143 minutes</p>