It's Kind of a Funny Story

Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck Anna Boden

Overview

Adapted from Ned Vizzini's 2006 novel, It's Kind of a Funny Story tells the story of burnt-out teenager Craig (Keir Gilchrist), who checks himself into a mental health clinic citing exhaustion, and finds himself placed in the adult ward due to the fact that the youth ward has been shut down. Taken under the wing of fellow patient Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), the stressed-out 16-year-old attempts to endure his mandatory five days' stay without completely losing his mind. His predicament is made somewhat more tolerable by the presence of Noelle (Emma Roberts), another teenage patient who's struggling to sort out her thoughts. Academy Award nominee Viola Davis, Lauren Graham, and Jim Gaffigan co-star.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/08/2011
UPC:	0025192074288
Original Release:	2010
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	STUDIO DISTRIBUTION SERVS LLC
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:42:00
Sales rank:	44,464

Special Features

Deleted Scenes; Outtakes; A Look Inside It's Kind Of A Funny Story; It's Kind Of A Funny Story Premiere In New York City

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Keir Gilchrist	Craig
Zach Galifianakis	Bobby
Emma Roberts	Noelle
Viola Davis	Dr. Eden Minerva
Dana De Vestern	Alyssa
Lauren Graham	Lynn
Jim Gaffigan	George
Karen Chilton	Nurse Harper
Aasif Mandvi	Dr. Mahmoud
Jared Goldstein	Ronny
Alan Aisenberg	Scuggs
Zoë Kravitz	Nia,Actor
Thomas Mann	Aaron
Jeremy Davies	Smitty
Lou Myers	Jimmy
MacIntyre Dixon	Roger
Bernard White	Muqtada
Novella Nelson	The Professor
Matthew Maher	Humble
Molly Hager	Becca
Ato Blankson-Wood	Jennifer
Adrian Martinez	Johnny
Daniel London	Solomon
Caitlin Kinnunen	Science Geek
Stephen Scott Scarpulla	HS Director
Jee Young Han	HS Do-Gooder
Leo Allen	Mr. Reynolds
Morgan Murphy	Joanie
Billy McFadden	Little Craig
Susan J. Blommaert	HS Teacher,High School Teacher
Mary Birdsong	Bobby's Ex
Ethan Herschenfeld	Acid Head
Ben Folstein	Neil
Rosalyn Coleman	Monica/"Under Pressure" Nurse #1
Kenya Brome	"Under Pressure" Nurse #2
Delia Reed	"Under Pressure" Nurse #3
Stewart Steinberg	Charlie Custodian

Technical Credits

Anna Boden

Ryan Fleck

Ned Vizzini

Anna Boden	Director,Screenwriter
Ryan Fleck	Director,Screenwriter
Ben Browning	Producer
Kevin Misher	Producer
Jeremy Kipp Walker	Executive Producer
Michael Maher	Executive Producer
Peter Rawlinson	Executive Producer
Patrick Baker	Executive Producer
Roy Farfel	Stunts
Cindy Tolan	Casting
Philip Beck Jr.	Special Effects
Ned Vizzini	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Shot in a style that combines Wes Anderson's cultivated preciousness with the occasional visual flights of fancy that helped make (500) Days of Summer something of a generational statement, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden's It's Kind of a Funny Story transforms One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest into a soft-hearted John Hughes-ish coming-of-age tale. Suicidal 16-year-old Craig (Keir Gilchrist) checks himself into an ER and asks to be committed because he's suffering from severe depression and anxiety. The doctors agree, and soon he's admitted to a psych ward full of lovable loonies. There's Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), the guy who seems to know how the whole system works and quickly befriends Craig; another teen named Noelle (Emma Roberts), who cuts herself; an orthodox Jew named Solomon, who requires silence due to his oversensitive hearing; and Muqtada (Bernard White), Craig's severely agoraphobic roommate. As Craig learns to deal with the anxieties placed on him by a demanding father and a weak-willed but kindly mother, he starts to fall for Noelle. But will he be able to get everything together before his mandatory minimum stay of five days is complete? With one exception, every scene paints Craig's fellow patients as harmless eccentrics, and even the one instance where there is a screaming breakdown, the character's tirade seems entirely justified. As Craig, Gilchrist displays comedic timing not unlike Justin Long's -- he's a 21st century dude through and through. He's also a smart enough performer to fall into Galifianakis' distinct comic rhythms. The filmmakers play many of Galifianakis' scenes in long single takes so we can savor the funnyman's elongated pauses -- they add a genuinely offbeat charm to a film that occasionally strains for it (like when a fantasy sequence finds the entire cast in full-on glam regalia performing Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure"). As the title indicates, It's Kind of a Funny Story is too cute by half, but at least Fleck and Boden are keenly aware of this, and seem to be as tickled by the proceedings as they want us to be. Being one of the more respected young directing duos, Fleck and Boden are able to snag a stellar supporting cast, many of them for no more than two or three scenes each. Lauren Graham scores as Craig's mom, and Viola Davis, playing Craig's psychiatrist, comes off as the therapist anyone would wish for. Hovering over everything is the always offbeat Jeremy Davies as the soft-spoken warden of the psych ward -- it's a fairly good indication of how wacky the whole place is that Davies plays the man in charge. While the movie lacks the realism of Fleck and Boden's previous efforts (Half Nelson and Sugar), it has the same level of humanism -- they never condescend to their characters. They don't prove to be masterful comedic filmmakers, but they do know how to put people on the screen that audiences like and respond to. All in all, It's Kind of a Funny Story plays like the pilot for a promising cable sitcom.