When 16-year-old Craig (Keir Gilchrist,
The United States of Tara) gets admitted to a psychiatric ward, he's hoping for a quick fix for his suicidal impulses--but then he learns he can't leave for five days… which turn out to be the most transformative days of his life.
It's Kind of a Funny Story takes a fairly thread-worn premise--that the mentally disturbed have life lessons to offer the supposedly sane--and breathes some fresh life into it with generous writing and solid performances. Craig's most important relationship is with Bobby (Zach Galifianakis,
The Hangover), a troubled father who transfers some parental affection to Craig; the conversations between the two of them are above and away the heart of the movie--a genuine and nuanced portrait of two people grappling with depression and neurosis. Standup comedian Galifianakis is turning into one of those character actors who give every movie they're in a boost; his performance here is honest, sensitive, and without a shred of self-pity or pandering. The rest of the movie is uneven--a romance with a self-cutting young girl (Emma Roberts,
Nancy Drew) is pleasant but bland, and some therapy scenes are obligatorily heartening (though again, elevated by the acting, in this case Viola Davis)--but the relationship between Bobby and Craig makes the whole movie well worth watching.
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