FILM #22 THIS IS FARTY (7.3.13)

'This is Faulty' would be more apt.


Leslie Mann, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, John Lithgow,  Albert Brooks and Melissa McCarthy who is easily the best thing in this, as she is in everything she's in, I do hope her new film, Identity Theft doesn't sully that opinion.

'This is Faulty' is another dramaedy from Judd Apatow, the supposed comedy genius behind such laughter-free classics like Knocked Up, Funny People and Super Bad, which means the humour comes from 'funny' dialogue and not jokes. It's a commonly held belief that his 'Emperor's Clothing' brand of comedy, is the bee's knees. Who needs jokes and gags, goes the argument, when we can watch Apatow's real-life children bickering about being banned from using the internet. hilarious!

Anyway, this is an Apatow film which means we're in for a very long, film about 'real life' starring his s-l-o-w  t-a-l-k-i-n-g, real-life wife, Leslie Mann and the usually reliable Paul Rudd who play a husband and wife whose idyllic 40-something life-style is under threat from some middling financial pressures and her obsession with aging and his with cup cakes. They resolve to deal with their issues by talking at length at each other, at their friends, at their children, at their fathers and at anyone else whom will listen, every now and then Apatow throws a 'joke' at us and sometimes these can be very funny, laugh-out-loud funny and sometimes they can be as funny as anal polyps.

 Seriously, Who cares about some rich yuppy couple and their horribly over induldged and precocious daughters? Oh dear, his indie record company is having money issues - his latest act has only sold 600 discs, and her exclusive fashion shop is missing $12,000 dollars, because her part-time, high-class, escort, shop-assistant, Megan Fox might or might not have stolen $12,000 dollars! Oh dear, she's a secret smoker and he, god forbid (whisper it) eats cup cakes, this is a major issue for her. And if that's not bad enough for her, then she has to deal with the fact her estranged, but trying to reconnect, dad's second wife is younger than her! And Paul Rudd's dad (he too has a second family) is a moocher who's already 'borrowed' $80,000 dollars from him, Rudd can't afford to give him any more money, so he just gives him a signed John Lennon original drawing. And biggest shock of all and I hope you're sitting down for this... She can't cope with being 40, so tells everyone she's 38! And he pisses off to the loo to play with his Wii (actually it's his iPad, but Wii is funnier in this instance)

The funniest bit in the whole film comes after the film has ended and the credits have started when Apatow shows an out-take featuring Melissa McCarthy ab-libbing a parent-teacher conference.

Stick to the trailer, it's funnier and more importantly, shorter.

5/10