It’s Kind of a Funny Story – movie review

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I wanted to see It’s Kind of a Funny Story mostly because it had Keir Gilchrist and Zach Galifianakis in it. I love Gilchrist on United States of Tara, and Galifianakis is just hilarious. I also thought the title was interesting and hinted that the movie wasn’t going to be that funny, but it would definitely have it’s moments. The title spoke truth, and what resulted was a truly enjoyable movie.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story was creative. It mixes the real world with what’s going on inside Craig’s head in situations without being too weird. Being able to see what’s going on in Craig’s head also helps understand the character – he’s not insane, he’s stressed and feels that he has no outlet. Craig’s relationships help us learn about other characters, too, no matter how minor the character might be, which I believe is just great storytelling. The movie grabs your attention right away, and it never loses it. Nothing about the movie reminds you of the fact that you are watching a movie.

I truly enjoyed the relationship between Craig and Bobby. Keir Gilchrist and Zach Galifianakis have great chemistry. Their relationship was obviously something that they both needed. Craig who is constantly stressed out by his own clueless father had the father figure he needed in Bobby, while Bobby feels like he’s a not a great father but seems to enjoy being fatherly towards Craig. You could be told that the characters actually were father and son, and that would be believable.

My favorite scene in the entire movie takes place during music time. The entire group has their own instruments to play, except for Craig, so the instructor asks him to take vocals. The song they’re playing is “Under Pressure”, which when we hear it sounds like there is some attempt to make it sound like that song. Before Craig sings, however, we’re transported into his mind, where the group is a glam rock band and he’s the band’s singer. It’s a fun scene, and though we don’t see how Craig actually performs, it tells us that he’s having fun doing it. When we cut back to reality, everyone is cheering him on, and it’s one of the ways that we know he’s truly been accepted in the hospital.

I liked Keir Gilchrist as Craig. Craig knows he has problems, and he knows they seem trivial to other people, but he never downplays how his problems affect him.  Craig is also kind-hearted and well-meaning. Pretty much as soon as he meets people, he wants to help them raise money for a pizza party they’ve been planning, and he tries to help Bobby with a group home interview. Craig isn’t that different from roles I’ve gotten to know Keir Gilchrist for, though. He’s always kind of a dorky kid with an adult adviser who’s trying to get the attention of a crush. It may be a type, but it’s a type that Keir Gilchrist pulls off well.

Emma Roberts played Noelle, and she was just fun to watch. Her character is a cutter, even though we never find out why – but in the grand scheme of things, it just doesn’t matter. Noelle is creative and quirky, and just so full of life. Emma Roberts lent a believability to Noelle that played out well on the screen.

I was surprised by Zach Galifianakis’s performance in It’s Kind of a Funny Story. I’m used to seeing him in movies such as The Hangover and Dinner for Schmucks, where he is constantly hilarious and somewhat childish. In this movie, he was not at all childish and quite serious. His character of Bobby definitely made us laugh, and he seemed to want to make people happy, but Bobby wasn’t happy and that was always clear. Galifianakis was just so wonderful and real, and while Bobby is unlike the roles I’ve gotten to know him for, I would still rank Bobby in Galifianakis’s top five performances.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story is one of the better movies I’ve seen this year. It’s dramatic, but a little funny. The movie tells an interesting story, and it does it well. It’s believable and fun, and I actually can’t wait to see it again.