Why should I waste $10 dollars and 100 minutes on a film that is only "kind of" funny? Writers-directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck should have asked themselves this question before they embarked on It's Kind of a Funny Story.
Adapted from Ned Vizzini's novel of the same name, the film tells the story of teenager Craig Gilner. Craig, played by United States of Tara's Keir Gilchrist, deals with the issues that plague the lives of so many upper-class New York teens. The pressures of high school, unrequited love and prospective admission into a pre-professional summer school litter Craig's dreams, which become filled with suicidal images. Unable to cope with these subconscious thoughts of suicide, the young protagonist seeks institutional help.
When Craig begins his mandated five-day stay at a psychiatric hospital, the film becomes a less-than-comedic cross between One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Girl, Interrupted. Like those films, It's Kind of a Funny Story contrasts its protagonist's relatively mild state with the real troubles of those around him. In his ward, Craig meets a colorful cast of characters, as well as a stiff psychiatrist, played by Viola Davis, and two true friends, Bobby and Noelle.
As Bobby, an older patient who mentors Craig, Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover) gives his best Robin Williams impression - he has a few funny lines and one or two decent dramatic beats, but he spends most of the film being brutally unfunny and annoying.
On the other side of the dramatic spectrum, Emma Roberts (Valentine's Day) seems too sweet and reserved to fit Noelle's supposedly fiery personality. Consequently, Noelle comes across as an angst-free hipster rather than a likable girl with a troubled history. As Craig, Gilchrist suffers from the same dramatic deficiency. In a part that should engage and interest the audience, Gilchrist projects little charm or emotion. The film itself has the same problem.
It's Kind of a Funny Story offers almost nothing for the audience to enjoy. Filmmakers Boden and Fleck, who fared so well with realist efforts Half Nelson and Sugar, cannot seem to pull off a dramatic comedy. They fail to find a stable tone for the film. Scenes range from the absurd and uncomfortable, such as an on-the-nose ward-wide rendition of "Under Pressure," to the maudlin and cringe-worthy, like when Bobby explains his upsetting familial situation. A basketball court sequence in which Bobby instructs Craig in the ways of wooing Noelle also falls particularly flat.
Still, beneath the muck of its awkward tone, the movie does contain some worthy lessons and discoveries. During the course of his stay at the hospital, Craig comes to see just how trivial his troubles seem when compared with those of his fellow patients. Along with this helpful sense of perspective, the protagonist gains an appreciation for the arts. In his world of Gordon Gekko wannabes, the ability to look beyond dollar signs is both rare and refreshing. It is all the more tragic then that It's Kind of a Funny Story has little artistic value of its own.
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