It's Kind of a Funny Story

Based on the novel by Ned Vizzini, It’s Kind of a Funny Story is about a teenage boy who checks into a hospital following an attempted suicide jump where he is hospitalized for depression as he meet other individuals struggling with their own mental illnesses. Written for the screen and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the film is an exploration of a teenage boy dealing with the pressures of society and his own shortcomings as he would try to understand himself as well as those suffering from anxieties. Starring Keir Gilchrist, Emma Roberts, Lauren Graham, Jim Gaffigan, Jeremy Davies, Zoe Kravitz, Thomas Mann, Aasif Mandvi, Bernard White, Laverne Cox, Viola Davis, and Zach Galifianakis. It’s Kind of a Funny Story is a witty and engrossing film from Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.

With the pressure to succeed both in school and in life just before it’s really about to start, the film is about a teenage boy who checks into a hospital following a suicide attempt where he would stay for nearly a week as he meets various people with similar struggles as well as other forms of mental illness. It’s a film that explores the anxieties of a sixteen-year old kid where he would meet people around his age who also deal with problems as well as adults who are also coping with some form of illness. The film’s screenplay by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck is told mainly by its protagonist Craig Gilner (Keir Gilchrist) who attends a prestigious high school in Brooklyn as he’s due to finish an application for a prestigious summer school as his father George (Jim Gaffigan) expects him to do so while he is also in the shadow of his friend Aaron Fitzcarraldo (Thomas Mann) who is dating his longtime crush Nia (Zoe Kravitz). After imagining the idea of jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge where he would think about how his family would think, it would force Gilner to check into a hospital thinking he would stay for a short period of time.

Yet, the stay would be for a week for observation and therapy where Gilner meets an adult patient in Bobby (Zach Galifianakis) who is dealing with his own issues as well as trying to get a home to stay after he gets discharged. Gilner would also befriend another teenage patient in Noelle (Emma Roberts) as all of the teenage patients are staying at the adult ward due to renovations for the teenage ward. Noelle is there for self-harm as Gilner deals with the fact that he’s got a lot going for him but the pressure to succeed eventually got to him where he is able to gain sympathy from the other patients and the hospital’s therapist Dr. Minerva (Viola Davis) who is aware of his troubled thoughts.

The direction of Boden and Fleck is largely straightforward in terms of its compositions and setting while it does have some stylistic elements in the film as it relates to the drawings that Gilner would create. Shot on location in Brooklyn as well as parts of New York City, Boden and Fleck would use some wide shots but maintain an intimacy into the hospital setting such as its hallways, rooms, and common rooms for patients to socialize at. The usage of close-ups and medium shots as well as stylish moments of fantasy help play into the film’s quirky and offbeat tone while Boden and Fleck would know when to keep the film grounded in reality. Even in the group therapy sessions, simple conversations between Gilner, Bobby, and Noelle, and other moments where Gilner has to deal with elements of reality including small meetings with his family.

With Boden also serving as the film’s editor, she and Fleck would also create some stylish montages that play into the anxieties in Gilner’s life as well as some surreal sequences about the idea of what his future might be. Much of Boden’s editing would have some stylistic flair in the montages and in some jump-cuts that include a dream sequence of Gilner and other patients playing Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie. With the aid of animation director Brian Drucker, the animated backgrounds would play into this idea of fantasy but also hope for Gilner. The sense of realism does occur for its third act but there is also this element of hope as it relates to the time Gilner spent as well as realize that there’s nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to depression and mental illness. Overall, Boden and Fleck craft a touching and heartfelt film about a teenage boy seeking help at hospital where he learns about those that are also in need of help.

Cinematographer Andrij Parekh does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it is largely straightforward for many of the interior scenes at the hospital and at Gilner’s school while there’s some low-key lighting for a few interior/exterior scenes set at night. Production designer Beth Mickle, with set decorator Carrie Stewart and art director Michael Ahern, does fantastic work with the look of the rooms, common rooms, and hallways at the hospital as well as the homes of Gilner’s family and friends. Costume designers Kurt and Bart do nice work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward with the exception of the glam-inspired costumes for the fantasy sequence.

Special effects makeup artist Michael Marino does terrific work with the makeup for the fantasy sequence as well as the look of the scars that Noelle is sporting on her body. Visual effects supervisor Anthony Luigi Santoro does brilliant work with the visual effects in bringing the animation to life as well as be used as an element of hope in the real world. Sound editor Paul Hsu does superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of the hospital and some of the sparse sounds that are made throughout the film. The film’s music by Broken Social Scene is wonderful for its indie-folk approach with melodic guitars and offbeat rhythms while music supervisor Andrea von Foerster provide a mixture of different musical genres from indie, punk, rock, hip-hop, and pop as it includes some songs by Broken Social Scene as well as the xx, Drum, Queen and David Bowie, the Damned, the Wowz, Pink Mountaintops, White Hinterland, Kurtis Blow, the Tom Robinson Band, Pharoah Sanders, Method Man and Redman, Common, Rachid Taha, and Black Sabbath.

The casting by Cindy Tolan is amazing as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from novelist Ned Vizzini as the hospital’s music teacher, Laverne Cox as a transgender patient, Ethan Herschenfeld as a Hasidic Jewish patient named Solomon, Mary Birdsong as Bobby’s ex-wife, Aasif Mandvi as Dr. Mahmoud who would be the first to analyze Gilner’s problems, Matthew Maher and Adrian Martinez as a couple of adult patients in their respective roles as Humble and Johnny, Morgan Murphy as a young patient in Joanie, Dana DeVestern as Gilner’s young sister Alissa, Bernard White as an Egyptian patient named Muqtada, and Jeremy Davies as a hospital monitor named Smitty who watches over everyone as he makes sure everyone is fine.

Thomas Mann and Zoe Kravitz are terrific in their respective roles as Gilner’s friends Aaron Fitzcarraldo and Nia with Mann as an overachiever who always get what he wants and Kravitz as Gilner’s crush who becomes interested in him during his time at the hospital. Lauren Graham and Jim Gaffigan are fantastic in their respective roles as Gilner’s parents in Lynn and George with the former being more concerned about her son’s well-being while the latter is hoping his son will get better and get back on track unaware of the pressure he’s putting towards his son. Viola Davis is excellent as Dr. Minerva as the hospital’s therapist who analyzes Gilner as well as be someone who is understanding and willing to listen as it’s a low-key yet somber performance from Davis.

Emma Roberts is brilliant as Noelle as a teenage patient with issues of self-harm as someone who is intrigued by Gilner as well as being also witty and aware of her own situation. Zach Galifianakis is incredible as Bobby as an adult patient who is going through issues of his own but also offers a lot of wisdom to Gilner about life as well as the fact that things do get more complicated in adulthood but there’s also hope. Finally, there’s Keir Gilchrist in a remarkable performance as Craig Gilner as a teenage boy with a lot going for him as he copes with the pressure to succeed as well as a lot of the anxieties where he learns how to cope as well as not be afraid of seeking help.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story is a marvelous film from Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Featuring a great ensemble cast, a superb music soundtrack, touching study of mental illness and depression, and the desire for hope in a complicated world. It’s a film that manages to showcase a young man trying to deal with his own anxieties and demands of the world where he finds solace through people who are also going through similar struggles. In the end, It’s Kind of a Funny Story is an exhilaratingly rich film from Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.

Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck Films: Half Nelson - Sugar (2008 film) - Mississippi Grind – Captain Marvel - The Auteurs #71: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck

© thevoid99 2019

Bad Santa

Directed by Terry Zwigoff and written by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, Bad Santa is the story of an alcoholic thief who dresses up as Santa Claus where he and his partner hope to rob a mall where he copes with his own self-loathing but also help a young kid. The film is a dark comedy where a man dressed up as Santa Claus tries to find reasons for living though he still feels like he is at odds with the world as the titular character is played by Billy Bob Thornton. Also starring Lauren Graham, Brett Kelly, Tony Cox, Lauren Tom, Bernie Mac, Cloris Leachman, and John Ritter in his final film performance as Bob Chipeska. Bad Santa is an offbeat yet exhilarating film from Terry Zwigoff.

The film revolves around a pathetic, self-loathing alcoholic who works in malls dressed up as Santa Claus as part of an act where he and his midget-partner plan to steal money from malls during the holidays until the man meets a bullied young boy and finds himself caring for him. It’s a film that is sort of an anti-Christmas film in some ways yet it is really about this man that realizes that there is good in the world and doesn’t have to go into this world of self-destruction and self-loathing while can still be perverse such as his liaisons with a bartender who has a fetish for men in Santa’s clothing. It all plays into a world that is quite odd as this man named Willie T. Soke is just someone that is quite amoral as he spends his time in smalls having sex with whoever he sees, gets drunk, or does all sorts of things much to the annoyance of his partner Marcus (Tony Cox).

The film’s script by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, with re-writes by the film’s executive producers in Joel & Ethan Coen, doesn’t just explore Soke’s own disdain towards society and himself but also in the fact that he unknowingly finds himself being intrigued by this young boy who not only sees him as the real Santa but also someone he believes is actually good despite the awful shit he does. While Soke is seen early in the film being a skilled safecracker, it is clear that his attempts to be part of society fails because of his anti-social behavior which is fueled more by his alcoholism. Even as he ponders about his own purpose in life until he meets this kid where he realizes that he does have a reason to live. Still, he and Marcus have to do the job to steal things but they realize that a security officer named Gin (Bernie Mac) knows what is going on as he wants in on the action which only make things worse. Especially when Willie begins to have a change of heart as he realizes not just the true meaning of Christmas but also in doing what is right.

Terry Zwigoff’s direction is largely straightforward in terms of the compositions he creates but also finds way to create moments that are very funny. While some of the comedic moments were helmed by an unknown filmmaker for its theatrical release, there are moments that is still Zwigoff’s film in the way he presents Soke as this pathetic, unruly man that is often obsessed with sleeping with women or just getting shit-faced. Shot largely on location in Los Angeles and parts of Southern California, the film does play into a world where it is warm in an odd way considering that it is set during the Xmas holidays. The usage of wide and medium shots do play into the look of the malls and some of the locations in California as Arizona. Yet, Zwigoff finds way to convey that sense of dark humor where it can toe the line over what is profane but also what is funny. Even in scenes that play into moments that are quite natural as well as showcase that Soke can be redeemed such as a scene where he beats up a bully and feeling very good afterwards. The climatic heist is filled with tension but also a bit of unexpected sentimentality as it relates to Soke’s own revelations about himself and doing what is right as it would end in a very funny way. Overall, Zwigoff creates a bawdy yet whimsical film about a self-loathing thief finding some meaning during the Xmas holidays.

Cinematographer Jamie Anderson does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography to play into the colorful look of the locations in the day to the usage of lights for many of the interior scenes set at night. Editor Robert Hoffman does nice work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some rhythmic cuts for some of the film‘s very funny moments. Production designer Sharon Seymour, with set decorator Robert Greenfield and art director Peter Borck, does fantastic work to the look of the mall as well as the home of the kid that Stokes befriends.

Costume designer Wendy Chuck does wonderful work with the costumes in creating some stylish costumes from the ragged look of Soke’s Santa suit to the clothes that Marcus wears as an elf. Sound editors Michael J. Benavente and Larry Kemp do terrific work with the sound from the way liquor bottles and such sound in the background along with the atmosphere of the malls. The film’s music by David Kitay is amazing for its mixture of piano-based music as well as playful orchestral touches while music supervisor Rachel Levy creates a fun soundtrack featuring a variety of Xmas standards along with some classical pieces to play into the film’s humor.

The casting by Felicia Fasano and Mary Vernieu do incredible work with the casting as it features some notable small roles from Ethan Phillips as the boy’s incarcerated father, Tom McGowan as the original mall Santa Claus who quits early in the film, Ajay Naidu as some nut job who attacks Soke over a misunderstanding, Alex Borstein as a mom from a different mall, Octavia Spencer as a prostitute Stokes know in Cleo, Matt Walsh as a neighbor who asks Soke about putting some decorations for the neighborhood, Max Van Ville as the kid’s bully, and Cloris Leachman in a very funny performance as the kid’s senile yet funny grandmother. Lauren Tom is wonderful as Marcus’ mail-order bride Lois who only cares for idiotic things.

Bernie Mac is fantastic as the mall security chief Gin Slagel as a man that is suspicious about Soke and Marcus only wanting half of what they steal in a bargain that makes Soke very uncomfortable. In his final film performance, John Ritter is excellent as the mall’s manager Bob Chipeska as a man that is trying to make sure things go smoothly as he is taken aback by Soke’s behavior as well as Marcus’ own appearance as it’s a very funny performance from Ritter. Lauren Graham is amazing as Sue as a bartender Soke befriends and goes out with as she has a fetish for guys in Santa suits while being a maternal figure for this young kid.

Brett Kelly is brilliant as this young kid named Thurman as someone that is constantly bullied while being fascinated by Soke as he sees someone that he can rely on. Tony Cox is great as Marcus as a midget with a fierce tongue as he is sort of the mastermind behind the thefts as he copes with Stokes’ growing incompetence and troubles where he finds himself doing a lot of the work. Finally, there’s Billy Bob Thornton in a phenomenal role as Willie T. Soke aka Bad Santa as this skilled but unhappy thief who drowns himself in self-loathing and alcohol as Thornton provides something that is very funny in its restraint and indifference but also some moments that are very somber as it relates to his yearning to find meaning in his life.

Bad Santa is a sensational film from Terry Zwigoff that features a winning and hilarious performance from Billy Bob Thornton in the leading role. Along with a great supporting cast and a witty premise, the film isn’t just an odd yet exhilarating dark comedy that is kind of the anti-Christmas film. It’s also a film that explores a man’s disdain towards society and helping this young kid stand out and not take shit from them. In the end, Bad Santa is an extraordinary film from Terry Zwigoff.

Terry Zwigoff Films: Louie Bluie - Crumb - Ghost World - Art School Confidential - The Auteurs #53: Terry Zwigoff

© thevoid99 2016