JUDD APATOW: ONE-MAN BRAND

“Funny People” is only the third film Judd Apatow has directed—after “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up”—but he is already a one-man brand. When his name is on a poster, audiences know they’re in for a laidback, semi-improvised, filthy yet big-hearted “bromantic” comedy, in which the bonding between some slacker buddies overshadows anything as trivial as boy-meets-girl.

They also know they’re likely to see some mix of actors from the so-called Judd Squad, a repertory company of rising comedians which includes Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, Jason Segel and Apatow’s wife, Leslie Mann. Studio accountants, meanwhile, know they’re in for a summer hit that will rake in many times its modest budget.

But the main reason why Apatow, 41, has attained mogul status is that he’s even more influential as a producer than as a director. “Pineapple Express”, “Step Brothers”, “Drillbit Taylor”, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Superbad” are all seen as Apatow productions, regardless of who actually had the job of shouting “action!” “Funny People” is the first Apatow film to feature a superstar, Adam Sandler. Mercifully, Sandler’s back catalogue of puerile dreck is scarcely relevant. He’s in the Judd Squad now.

"Funny People" British release, August 28th

~ NICHOLAS BARBER