It's Kind of a Funny Story [Blu-ray]

Nice film, good story and cast of interesting people facing all the problems we all confront every second of every day in our own lives. Well worth taking the time to watch that is for sure.

This movie was cute and hilarious.

Its Kind of a Funny Story has some wonderful actors and despite having some typical elements of boy and girl rom-com cheese, this movie errs on the side of deep seated sorrow. The main character is a young teen who, having some depression and suicidal dreams, decides to check himself into the hospital, basically insisting he be admitted. Having worked in these types of facilities, all the situations involving this hospital were totally unrealistic, but I was willing to watch for the sake of movieland dramatization despite these fallacies. This teenage boy was not a typical kid, he was gifted with the knack of seeing just what made people tick, including his roommate who never left his bed. It was sweet to see him learn about himself in the middle of his hospitalization going from depressed and stressed (as a teen sounds so difficult) to hopeful and inspired. The art in this movie is excellent! That was honestly my favorite part of the film! How the director was able to stitch the art into the film and keep that as the string that ties the whole story together is beautiful. It was a great movie. In the end, I felt happy with a hint of sadness, but I guess that's just how life can feel sometimes.

This is an enjoyable story showing that being genuine and giving, can help yourself as well as others. This is NOT just another "teen angst" movie. It shows how dropping all the defensive walls many people think they need to project, and being a real version of yourself can help move your life in a genuinely better direction. Spoiler alert: (Kind of . . . depending on how strictly you define "spoiler") A teen with typical adolescent tunnel vision on his own problems, makes the "mistake" of demanding admission to a hospital psych ward, mistaking his suicidal ideations for an actual suicidal intention. While inside he develops some real relationships with real people in the ward with him, helping them because he is a giving individual with the ability to think of someone besides himself. In meeting and getting to know real people with real and far more extensive problems than his typical teen stresses, helps him gain perspective into his own problems in return. I spent some time treating psychiatric inpatients while training for my job. This movie treats psychiatric inpatient experience with great delicacy, and the grittiness of an actual ward is not present. However, the omission of many of the worse behaviors of people in general, and psychiatric patients in specific, helps to humanize the protagonist's fellow inpatients instead of providing the distraction that showing a potential "freak show" of bizarre behaviors that its inclusion could have easily caused (particularly to the non-medical audience). This device helps to further the intended plot arc of the movie, helping to develop it and its characters more thoroughly, and I believe adds more to the movie, and its story, than it takes away.

When I first watched this movie, I had been in the process of watching many films that reviewers would like much more than this. This is a movie you just have to experience, not necessarily critique everything. Some people will connect with this movie and some won't. It might not be as detailed as the book, however I thought this movie was very touching. It deals with a very touchy subject, depression and the results of depression. Even though I caught myself laughing a lot, I caught myself tearing up during the conversations between Craig and Bobby, and then laughing again shortly after. This because of Zach Galifianakis' and Keir Gilchrist's wonderful acting. This movie changes its tone a lot, however it always keeps a similar vibe. You're either crying, laughing....or just thinking. It is very hard to find a movie even similar to this. It is a movie that I catch myself quoting and thinking about when life gets tough. I will try to watch this only on special occasions just so I don't spoil it. If you haven't watched this movie, it is worth an hour and a half of your time. I do recommend watching the movie first and then reading the book. Also I didn't know of what happened to the author before watching this movie, I was very saddened and discouraged at hearing the news. R.I.P. Ned Vizzini. His life and his story has helped saved many people. Thank you for reading this.

Fun read

Note: There are a few spoilers in here. So please do not read if you haven't watched the film yet. Or please do read if you just want to know what happens. I think it's safe to say that this was Zach Galifianakis' breakthrough performance. He has always been able to play his usual character. How awkward can he make a situation without being murdered? The hilarity isn't just in his performance but in the reaction of others. It's in his comedy and is shown through his portrayals of other characters in various films such as The Hangover and Due Date. When I started watching this film, that's what I was expecting, but I found that I was pleasantly surprised by his performance through this film. He was the perfect foil to the young protagonist. One thing that I did like about the film was that it portrayed depression from a different perspective. Some people feel that depression is all or nothing. You've either hit rock bottom or you're just on the surface like everyone else. Craig, from his own outward appearance and mannerisms, seems completely fine. He's smart, willing to explore the world, but scared of the possibilities of failure and his inability to overcome his own fears. His explanation of why he was afraid, a domino effect of one tragedy after another concluding to being lonely and homeless, was brilliant. It gave me flashbacks of high school and what I feared the most. Afer all, it's a double edged sword. There's the fear of what happens after you fail as well as after you succeed. Unfortunately, that was the one thing that kept the film enjoyable for me. I think what I was looking for was a character who is not only relatable but realistic. And realism for the audience is in the eye of personal experience, but I felt left out of Craig's revelations. For example, in the beginning he mentions a few of his classmates and their list of accomplishments and finally when it comes to him, underneath his name there is nothing. I could definitely relate to it. In his different experiences while at the psychiatric ward, he realizes he loves art and creates wonderful paintings. In a performance of "Changes," he stuns everyone else. He even helps his own roommate, Muqtada, come out of the room after simply mentioning that there's more out in the world to experience. It's obvious that he is noticed through motivating others to "live" just like he wants to. It's great, but that's when the break in realism happens for me. Of course, through these characters, there is a reflection of him in each of them. Each person he helps, he's breaking free a little bit more and more. With Muqtada, it was the last chain he needed to break free into the real world. Its symbolism is great, but it's lost on my own feelings toward the film. A few characters within the film fell flat. Noelle is a perfect example of this. She is the girl Craig notices in the psychiatric ward, and they take a liking to each other immediately. However, after watching the film, I felt that she was a part of his world just to include future tension between Craig and Nia (who was also a very flat character). And please don't judge me for this, but it's Pixies, not The Pixies (yes, I had to include that somewhere). Is this film worth seeing? Despite my own criticisms toward the film, I think this film is definitely worth seeing. However, it isn't a repeater. It won't be in my collection that I could comfortably watch again and again on a desert island. But for something a little uplifting and funny? Definitely.

Warning: Spoilers below: I liked the movie very much, even with changes in the script that differ from the book completely. Acting was brilliant for an adaptation of a book not as well known as most novels of adolescent troubles and resolutions (Kudos to Gilchrist, Roberts, and especially Galifianakis for playing their parts beyond my expectations). At first, I thought that this would be another pointless adaptation that some random putz in Hollywood would decide to make, disregarding the novel's actual storyline or meaning, and thus ruin. But as someone who read both the book first, and rented the movie here on Amazon, I was amazed at how much elements they kept on the movie from Vizzini's novel. Sure, Bobby's story was more emphasized on and Craig's eating disorder was never really touched upon, but even the revisions in the movie's writing were refreshing to see, and the movie still has the same philosophical experience to live for the day, Carpe Diem. The movie was a blast to watch, and heck, I might even re-read the book. The movie and book will forever remind me on a personal level that even when the world unfairly expects you to live up to its expectations, and life seems to occupy you from finding your natural purpose, hey, "That he not busy being born is busy dying". This movie made my(albeit disheartening)day. I highly recommend this movie, or even the book, to anyone that's ever questioned what their life should really be about :)

It's Kind of a Funny Story was a film I think I caught at some obscure time of night on Sky Indie. I immediately fell in love with it! It is funny and an insight into the mind of a teenager who admits himself to a psychiatric hospital. It's not your standard teenage film, it has more depth and substance and has the power to move people. It may seem like a morbid film, but it's quite the opposite!

..." Ich will mich umbringen. " - " Füllen Sie das aus. " Nun ja- Craig bestand darauf, dass er ernstgemeinte Hilfe benötigt....... obwohl er ja morgen wieder in die Schule muss. Jetzt wurde er auf eigenen Wunsch eingewiesen. Und in die Obhut von Doc Smitty und den liebenswerten Insassen gegeben. " Was ist mit dem? " - Der ist schizophren. " " Ist das hier `ne Irrenanstalt?? " Tja, ist es eine? IT`S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY, das ist es. Und sollte man durchaus ernst nehmen. Auch wenn Ärzte, Patienten und sonstiges Rumgehopse es mir schwer machten, das Lachen zu verkneifen. Klasse und bewegend gespielt vermittelt dieser Film einen kleinen Einblick in die verschiedensten Gemütszustände von Menschen, die in ihrer Kranken- Akte wohl überwiegend den Vermerk " verrückt " als Stempelaufdruck stehen haben. Aber ist das wirklich wahr? " Herr, gib mir die Kraft, das zu ändern, was ich ändern kann. Die Gelassenheit, das Unabänderliche zu ertragen- und die Weisheit, die beiden zu unterscheiden. " " Wir sind alle irre. Jeder hat ein Problem. Egal, ob er es zugibt oder nicht. " --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Story: Manchmal ist das, was in deinem Kopf so vorgeht, gar nicht so abgedreht, wie du denkst. Das findet zumindest Craig ( Keir Gilchrist ) heraus. Craig ist ein überspannter Teenager, der sich selbst in eine psychiatrische Klinik einweist, um ein paar Tage wieder runterzukommen. Doch das ist ein Fehlgedanke- statt Ruhe erwarten ihn scheinbar völlig durchgeknallte Typen, eine mögliche Romanze.....und die Chance, ganz von vorn zu beginnen...... ............................................................ ************************************************************************************************** Fazit: Der kleine Unterschied zu " Einer flog über das Kuckucksnest " ist meiner Meinung nach nicht überdimensional groß. IT`S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY ist eben so tragisch, amüsant und interessant. Nur eine Nummer seichter. Ohne die brutale Härte, die Nicholson erlebte, aber deswegen nicht minder erschreckend. Wer bestimmt eigentlich den schmalen Grat zwischen verrückt und normal? Die " Verrückten " oder die " Normalen " ? Knallen die perfekt gestylten Sicherungen einfach so oder aus Überforderung durch? Überfordert durch die sogenannten " Normalen " ? IT`S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY eröffnet teilweise sonderbare, neue Gedanken- denn.... verrückt sollte man nicht so leichtfertig als " verrückt " abtun. " Was machst du hier? " - " Ich mache Urlaub hier...erhole mich. " " Wer sich nicht ständig neu erschafft, ist bald des Todes. Kannste mir glauben. " IT`S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY ist schlichtweg ein Besuch in der Welt der Andersdenkenden, wo die Gespräche nicht unsinniger sind als die in der Welt der angeblich seelisch Gesunden. Zu keiner Zeit kitschig und über die Hauptrollen- Keir Gilchrist ( Serienstar ), Jeremy Davies ( Lost ) , Lauren Graham ( Gilmore Girls ), Zach Galifianakis ( Hangover, Love Vegas ) , Emma Roberts ( Blow )- hinaus auch mit den Nebendarstellern einwandfrei und prima besetzt. Von der ersten Minute an saß ich mit in der " Anstalt "...sowieso. :-)) ***** Lauflänge: 98 Minuten! Extras: - Unveröffentlichte Szenen= 9 Minuten! - Verpatzte Szenen= 11.25 Minuten! Sehr lustig!! - Ein Einblick in " It`s Kind of a Funny Story= 3.12 Minuten! - It`s Kind of a Funny Story- Premiere in New York= 2.30 Minuten! Ehrliche Anschau- Empfehlung! Und natürlich fünf ehrliche Sterne!

Such a great film. One of our favourites.

Audio Video Quality is good.

6 euro e 60 per un DVD davvero sopra la mediocrità di moltissimi film dell'ultima stagione. L'argomento generale non spicca per originalità (ma quale film e' ormai originale?) poiché si svolge in un reparto psichiatrico. E infatti non sta li' il valore del film, benché la carrellata di personaggi tra il divertente e il grottesco già appaghi molto l'aspettativa di umorismo scontatamente richiesto ad una pellicola che annoveri nel cast uno dei protagonisti di "una notte da leoni" . Ma fino a qui siamo nell'ambito dello "scontato" e del prevedibile. Meno prevedibile invece l'analisi sorprendentemente fluida degli adolescenti americani iperstressati, la bravura degli attori sconosciuti sia protagonisti che spalle, l'ironia sottile, l'armonia corale delle scene di gruppo. Ma il film non si ferma qui e aggiunge a questo già valido mix altri due elementi superlativi: una regia che spazia con disinvoltura dal "real" delle scene di dialoghi allo psichedelico- artistico stupefacente delle fantasie del protagonista, ai flashback inattesi in media res, ai cambi di spazio tempo repentini anti-noia. E poi il vero valore aggiunto: il film migliora esponenzialmente dalla meta' alla fine in modo proporzionale alla evoluzione che compie il protagonista migliorando il proprio stato d'umore. Cioè fino a meta' della storia si tratta di un buon film, con buoni attori, con un senso piu' profondo ma anche con battute ad hoc; poi si comincia a correre: con la storia, con le rivelazioni sulla vita dei personaggi, con la musica, con l'animazione di alcune scene disegnate e con gli eventi. La fine e' a ritmo serrato, un'esplosione di colori e vita, di immagini e propositi del protagonista che da amimico e monotono si sveglia finalmente trascinando tutto e tutti in una spirale di rinnovamento positivo. Sinceramente il film finisce lasciandoci un sorriso catartico sul viso. Appena terminato, se avete ancora qualche minuto, dovete vedere a ruota le scene tagliate e il resto dei contenuti speciali: meritano da soli l'acquisto. Vi dico solo che capirete cosa vuol dire improvvisazione degli attori e vi godrete delle chicche (qui si' davvero comiche in senso classico) dei personaggi secondari, in particolare degli "amici" di Bobby. Positivo.