It’s Kind of a Funny Story is latest feature from the directors of Half Nelson & Sugar, both of which were solid small films, and the same is basically true of this. One morning sixteen year old Craig, overwhelmed by life and suicidal, bicycles to the ER and finds himself admitted to the psych floor for a minimum of five days. Which is impressive on its own; it’s harder than one might think to believe you deserve help.
Due to a plot device, he’s sent to the adult floor rather than the youth one, and low-key hijinks ensue, including a pretty amazing fantasy glam rock music video sequence. If you’ve ever wanted to see Zack Galifianakis with glitter in his beard — and who among us hasn’t? — here is your opportunity.
It’s a light little movie, Emma Roberts is charming, and Galifianakis was strong as the true heart of the film, which was a pleasant surprise. It does bother me in a low-key sort of way, romanticizing mental illness & glossing over barriers to accessing services, but that is probably just me being humorless as per usual.
wicked jaws 