Born-again Dylan.By John DeSando, "It's Movie Time," "Cinema Classics," and "On the Marquee"
". . . He not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan
Having The King of Hearts and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as the gold standards of mental ward films meant I would not be favorably disposed ahead of time to It's Kind of a Funny Story. After all, what can beat the eccentric, zany worlds of either of my golden films?
Yet, I like Funny Story because it doesn't overplay the kooky card; it tries to gently expose the thinking of a depressed 16 year old, Craig (Keir Gilchrist), who has tried suicide but doesn't seem the type. In that way the film can touch the soul of almost any teen, for whom diffidence and uncertainty are constant companions. He just has some normal hang ups that he tries to deal with in an extreme way, landing him accidentally in a hospital's mental ward for a few days' observation and life lessons to be learned along the way.
After checking himself into the adult psychiatric ward of a Brooklyn hospital for five days, Craig makes connections that are not profound or personality outrageous but sympathetic like Bobby (Zack Galifianakis), who dispenses wisdom from Dylan (see above) but offers a placid outlook that is both realistic and romantic. Craig's Egyptian roommate, Muqtada (Bernard White), never goes out of the room until Craig magnetically draws him out, not because of charisma but a sweetness that broadcasts the world might not be such a hostile place.
As is required in almost all indie films, the adolescent must find another to fall in love with, make music with, and kiss with on a roof. Such a girl is Noelle (Emma Roberts), an independent, tough, but underwhelming hottie who really shouldn't be in the ward anyway (except for the multiple suicide attempts, if you can believe that). There's a musical number that barely fits the film, but, hey, it's an indie.
It's a bit of a stretch to believe that Craig is rehabbed in a few days, but that's the happy indie world. As Craig leaves the unreal world of the ward, images of life appear with a voiceover that reaffirms the primacy of living. See Dylan at the beginning of this essay.
John DeSando co-hosts It's Movie Time, Cinema Classics, and On the Marquee for WCBE 90.5. The shows can be heard streaming at http://publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/ppr/index.shtml and on demand at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/arts.artsmain Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.RR.com