At just 16, Craig Gilner has reached a crossroads and out of desperation runs into the arms of a hospital and where after he catches his breath, he checks himself into its psychiatric ward.
In "It's Kind of a Funny Story," Craig, played by Keir Gilchrist, is a high schooler living in New York City where he's been feeling pressured by his dad (a mis-cast and ill-used Jim Gaffigan) to advance into a magnet school for business. And guess what? He doesn't want to do that. Wow, what a surprise. Want another? Craig has been seeing a therapist and taking Zoloft. Wait a second. A teenager living in New York City taking anti-depressants and getting counseling? Well that's new.
Will Hollywood producers please humor the masses and invest in an idea that offers something other than New York angst? How about a story about Inuit life or something told from the perspective of Cubans in Miami that uses an all Cuban cast?
Sorry. We're stuck with Craig, who is a nice enough kid, but what he's struggling with isn't any different from that of any other teenager in the world - except that he has chosen to ride out his problems in a mental ward. At the ward, he befriends Bobby (Zach Galifianakis) who is sort of the leader among the patients. Bobby introduces Craig to all the other patients and the house rules. As Bobby, Galifianakis instantly dominates his screen time.
Their friendship contributes to Craig's improved mental health, as does some interaction with the ward's psychiatrist (Viola Davis) and the befriending of Noelle (Emma Roberts). Along this tale of Craig and his road to recovery, co-directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck treat the audience to some dreamy visuals based on Craig's penchant for drawing brain maps and a fantastical ensemble production of Queen's "Under Pressure," that has Galifianakis strutting around in a thick, brown bi-level wig - his beard festooned with glinting sequins.
Based on Ned Vizzini's novel of the same name, "It's Kind of a Funny Story" is stilted in the beginning and seems disingenuous. The reaction of Craig's parents, for example, when they show up at the hospital to assess the situation is vexing to say the least. Would Craig's mother (Lauren Graham) really react that way? And are all dads supposed to be dimwitted dolts? Hardly.
However saccharin the screenplay, it improves as it moves forward and the dialogue is quite poetic. When Craig confronts his buddy, their exchange is decidedly mature and honest; and in the moment directly following, there comes the feeling that teenagers are well-spoken and thoughtful people. They're just not that way around their parents.
"It's Kind of a Funny Story" opens in Seattle, Oct. 8.[[In-content Ad]]
