"It's Kind Of A Funny Story" Review

It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)
Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
Written by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
Based on the novel "It's Kind Of A Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
Starring: Keir Gilchrist, Emma Roberts, Zach Galifianiakis
Review by Jennie Brouse



Synopsis: When the pressure of grades, girls, and the world in general becomes too much for 16-year-old Craig to handle, he decides to check himself into a mental ward, where he meets a mentor of sorts and a girl who understands him.

Review: While the synopsis makes the film sound kind of boring, it's exactly the opposite. The story of Craig's process from feeling like he's going to die to him wanting to just get out in the world and live, is completely interesting, uplifting, and enjoyable to watch for anyone, but especially teenagers, who will have a tendency to relate to Craig.

The colorful characters Craig meets in the mental ward also bring that extra special pop to the movie, specifically Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), and Noelle (Emma Roberts). As usual, Galifianakis is hilarious in that way only he can be, with his bizarre-but-super-funny one-liners ("I smell like a hobo's bandaid"). But he's not only there for comedic relief, he is also very serious at times, and even brings some dark undertones to the film. Emma Robert is also impressive as Noelle, a girl who baffles while at the same time intrigues Craig. Newcomer Keir Gilchrist who plays Craig is also impressive. For a relatively new actor, I can tell he knows what he's doing. For me, the three main actors' performances made the characters really likeable.

The screenplay from Boden and Fleck was also well-done. Although I haven't fully read Vizzini's book, and cannot say if it was a good adaptation of that, I think the writing was humorous and witty. Even while in serious situations, there were some hilarious parts that I have to give credit to the writers for coming up with.
As well as the acting and writing, the soundtrack was superb. I loved the placement of White Hinterland's "Icarus," as well as the XX's "Intro."

If you'd like to see a good, uplifting movie, or if you're a fan of Ned Vizzini's novel, I'd say check this out!

Overall Rating: 3.5/5