Funny People

*OUT AT UK CINEMAS 28 August*

Neither of Judd Apatow's previous two films were hardly light on gags. Gross-out 'rom-coms' 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up stuck a hefty joke-stick right into one end of 'virginity' and 'birth', and produced the sort of entertainment best shepherded away from easily-offended relatives.

His latest movie, Funny People, purports to be a far more serious effort than his previous flicks. Yet, he also claims it's TWICE as funny. Maybe the jokes in this film are a lot more subtle and clever, owing in part, to some darker, more traumatic subject matter.

Adam Sandler stars as a seasoned stand-up comic, who gets diagnosed with an untreatable blood disorder and is only given a year to live. During one performance he takes a struggling comic (a noticeably thinner Seth Rogen) under his wing, and the two strike up a close but unusual bond. Then the docs find a cure to his ailment, and that's when things get crazy.

As much drama as it is comedy, the deeper characterisation suggest Apatow has evolved his style of humour to produce a more rounded movie, that strikes on many different levels. But according to reports coming from across the pond, it's also funny as f**k, too. And that works for us.

CLICK ON THE TOP RIGHT-HAND LINKS TO WATCH FUNNY PEOPLE CLIPS AND TRAILER