Funny People, Favorite Products

If you’ve seen Funny People — or read tech blogs — you know about the MySpace scene, where Adam Sandler‘s bigshot comedian character is hired to do standup at a big MySpace event (for a whopping $300, 000 — probably not a Rupert-friendly sum these days). Seth Rogen is his sidekick, an aspiring comedian whom Sandler taps first to write him jokes, then to be his BFF. Together they mock MySpace, like wondering what would happen if Tom from MySpace and Craig from Craigslist got in a fight (“Tom has more friends…Craig has weirder friends though. Craig has friends that are willing to do a lot more for cash”). MySpace co-founder Tom Anderson even makes an appearance, asking Sandler: “Do you actually use MySpace?” Says Sandler: “I fuck girls, Tom. I don’t have time for that.”  Zing!

MySpace apparently didn’t pay for the spot (which TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington thinks is a good idea; I’m not sure, I’d look to danah boyd on that score). There was definitely some quid pro quo, though, between Anderson’s cameo and marketing the movie (see the movie page here and this walk-on contest for a lucky MySpacer here) . But though this was the most egregious placement, it was far from the only product I noticed in the movie.

I’m not sure if Judd Apatow struck any deals with Red Bull or for that frosty can of Diet Coke placed prominently in the big dinner scene, or for the Wilson tennis racket or the Nike shirt or the Mac computer(s), though by now that’s de rigeur (getting people to use PCs prominently in movies, now that would be a product placement coup!). But it was hard to miss the other product placements  — call it “These Are A Few of Judd Apatow’s Favorite Things.”

1. UCB Theater – For a movie like this, ironic t-shirts make up about 80% of wardrobe. Still, the ones you notice are no accident. Early on in the show Seth Rogen’s Ira Wright (né Weiner, pronounced “Wine-er”) is seen wearing the classic UCB logo t-shirt, staple of many who pass through its classes in NY and LA. Homegrown UCB alumni in the cast include Aziz Ansari and Aubrey Plaza; Apatow held a comedy night at UCB’s LA theater for his players to rehearse their stand-up chops. In the Venn Diagram of comedy these days, everyone’s got overlap with UCB.

2. Jews – Apatow’s one, Rogen’s one, Sandler’s one, Schwartzmann’s one, Hill’s one, etc. etc. We already knew Apatow liked Jews, but here he prods, just a little bit, into how Jewish identity can be complicated in show business. See above re: Ira Wright — says Sandler upon hearing Ira’s last name, in that lunchlady voice: “You’re hiding some Judaism!” Note, in the meantime, that Rogen’s character has already worn a SuperJew t-shirt; also note that Sandler’s character is named George Simmons. Hiding some Judaism? That’s never explored. Yet later, we get to see the perfect shiksa wife that got away. Watching the family scenes later, I couldln’t help but notice that Apatow had replaced his Jewy self at the head of the family with the less, er, ethnic-looking Eric Bana. That must have been weird. Those issues are all very much subtext in the film (perhaps there only to be overthought by Jews in the audience). But still. Noted.

3. Elizabeth Banks -She’s not in the credits, but she is in the movie — twice, as herself: She’s the “co-star” on not one but two movie posters starring Sandler’s alter-ego Simmons, Mer-Man and some other one you see early on as Simmons looks lugubriously through all his clippings. Apatow worked with Banks in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Rogen worked with her on Zack & Miri Make A Porno; they’re all buds, yada yada. Sort of an interesting choice to pair with George Simmons, on the verisimilitude front — if he’s really such a big star, then I’d have taken Eric Bana’s advice and gone with someone like Cameron Diaz. Banks is still getting there. But hey, I noticed — a little product placement can go a long way. For a friend.

4. Wilco – Duh. Judd Apatow is a Wilco fan. There’s also a Wilco t-shirt and a Wilco pun. (Here is a secret about puns: people say they  hate them but they usually always laugh, and they did in this movie.)

5. Jon Brion – Maybe I should just have called this post “indie bait.” Jon Brion is not a household name but he is to those who know about him. That includes Sandler (Brion scored Punch Drunk Love), and Apatow (Brion scored the Apatow-produced Step Brothers, which sounds like a punchline but isn’t), plus any L.A. scenester who frequents music club Largo (see above re: that Venn diagram). Brion produced two tracks on the Funny People soundtrack; that’s him rocking out with Sandler as a studio-musician-for-hire in yet another lugubrious scene about how Adam Sandler’s character has no real friends. Except for…

6. Comedians – Good God there were a lot of cameos in this movie. It felt at times like watching a Comedy Central Roast. Since excess running time has been an issue in reviews for the film, I’m just going to go ahead and say that Andy Dick could have been cut. (I know the movie relied heavily on dick jokes, but that one’s hardly inspired.) And I love me some Sarah Silverman, but vagina mouth we’ve seen, so why repeat the gag? I understand that we’re supposed to really believe that George is a big-time comic, but the big house convinced me; seeing Paul Reiser looking so old a decade after flying high on his own bumbling Jewish guy schtick was just depressing. (Though maybe that was Apatow’s point.) Either way, the price tag for Big-Name Comedian product placement didn’t help with the budget — according to Nikki Finke, Funny People cost between $70 – 100 million to make, which her commenters point out is far beyond what an ensemble drama like that should have cost (estimates were reportedly low $20 – mid $30 million). As Eric Buckman of Reel Loop says, “That’s what happens when you have Paul Reiser stop by for a cameo. The payroll goes through the roof.” Eminem can stay though.

7. His Family – Yes, I know I am not the first person to point this out. And I actually quite like Leslie Mann. And the kids are definitely cute. But I do agree that they could have been on the screen half as much and it would have been fine (the fight scene at the end could have been cut, playful dress-up moments could have been cut, dog licking peanut butter off their faces without any punchline could have been cut. If a dog’s gonna be licking peanut butter off someone’s something in an Apatow comedy, I expect better). Also, as an inveterate musical theater hack myself, I submit that the “Memory” clip could have been cut in half, too. And also not used as a completely transparent, and out of character hook. Adam Sandler didn’t give a shit about his cellphone once during the movie, why now? And while it was a nice rendition, what straight man has ever been moved by Grizabella?

8. His Friends – See above re: the movie’s price tag, but when you’re Judd Apatow and your friends all happen to be hilarious comedians, and your friends’ friends all happen to be hilarious comedians and everyone knows everyone because they were all on a UCB Harold team together or in a Funny or Die video together or at an SNL afterparty together — well, why not work with them? As many of them as possible? Apatow said as much himself on his MTV guest blog:

I must write more movies so I can spend time with friends.
Do people hang out who don’t work together?

Some do. But they’re not as funny. Or, I guess, rich. See you all on MySpace!

Related:
The most perceptive thing I read about Funny People: Is the Judd Apatow moment over? [Salon]
Great background: Judd Apatow’s Family Values [NYT]
Pretty Genius Viral Marketing: Cute Cuddly Kittens & Yo, Teach [YouTube]

Product Placement:
Funny People Theatrical Trailer [MySpace]
Funny People Restricted Trailer [FunnyPeopleMovie.com]

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.