Funny People zum zweiten

Ganz ehrlich, ich hatte den Gedanken, Apatows Drittling mit den Regiearbeiten von John Cassavetes zu vergleichen, beim Ansehen von "Funny People" auch schon, hab ihn dann aber beiseite gelegt und nicht hingeschrieben, im wesentlichen weil ich mit Cassavetes Filmen nicht wirklich gut vetraut bin. Dieser lesenswerte Artikel gibt meinem Instinkt aber tatsächlich recht:

"But with Funny People, Apatow has successfully grown beyond just being a reliable comic label and instead approaches the genre with more assuredness, freshness, and sincere emotional intent than any director of comedies working in mainstream filmmaking today. I would even venture to say Funny People marks a move echoing that of the career of John Cassavetes. While Cassavetes arguably never successfully worked in comedy, Funny People often reminded me of what the late filmmaker attempted to do with his seventies dramas.
(...)
While Apatow may never achieve (or even seek) the naturalism of Cassavetes, he undeniably gives his performers far denser and layered characterization than comedy characters are usually permitted to possess, which results in an often surprisingly touching, challenging, and humanistic approach to comedy as well as impressive performances like that of Sandler’s."