Cover Story: Seth Rogen
Seriously Funny
Seth Rogen says the more sobering the subject matter of a Judd Apatow film, the funnier it gets. According to that equation, Funny People, about a dying comic, should be a barrel of laughs
By Bob Strauss
There’s been recent muttering from some quarters that Seth Rogen is overexposed. True, since his movie breakthrough in Knocked Up two years ago, the Canadian comic has been working at a furious pace, slamming out a string of raunchy comedies (Superbad, Pineapple Express, Zack & Miri Make a Porno, Fanboys), lending his deep, distinctive voice to numerous animated characters and giving hilarious interviews to just about anyone with a recording device.
But the thing about Rogen is, his shtick never gets tired. Or lame. And if you saw his last feature, the dark, psychologically disturbing Observe and Report, you know there’s a lot more to the actor than a bottomless reservoir of riffs on the trash-talking, overweight stoner.
His new movie Funny People should be further proof that Rogen never really wears out his welcome — and that there’s no predicting how far he can expand his range.
“I play a very kind of weak, naive, nerdy guy who does not even, really, swear,” the trim and toned (more on that later) Rogen says during an interview at the Los Angeles Four Seasons Hotel. “He’s the last guy built to succeed in show business or comedy or, really, any tough profession. Then he meets Adam Sandler’s character, who’s a very famous stand-up comic, and we start working together, and this moral change comes about.”
|
From left to right: Sandler,
Leslie Mann and Seth Rogen goof around
|
Directed by Knocked Up’s Judd Apatow, who’s also produced a number of Rogen’s films and gave the kid from Vancouver a start on his TV shows Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared,
the new movie explores not only the world of stand-up comedians, but
its end: Sandler’s X-rated George Simmons has to come to grips with a
fatal illness while mentoring Rogen’s Ira Wright in the ways of
professionally talking dirty.
“It’s definitely more dramatic than our other movies,” says the
27-year-old Rogen, who performed in Vancouver comedy clubs as a young
teen. “Usually, with the guys I work with, it’s like we want to see
what kind of crazy sh-t we can get them to put into a studio movie. But
it seems like Judd’s thing is to figure out what kind of intense
subject matter he can make a comedy out of. He thought he’d tackle
sexual insecurity as a good way in [The 40-Year-Old Virgin, in
which Seth had a supporting role], then unplanned pregnancy, which was
a little more serious. Death is the next challenge, really, and I think
he’s discovered that the more dramatic subject you tackle, the funnier
the moments can be at times. This definitely has moments that are more
depressing than in any of our movies, but I think that the funny
moments may be funnier than any we’ve ever done.”
|
Okay, we’ll buy that a talent like Apatow might be capable of that. But in an Adam Sandler movie? Talk about a guy who seems to have been overstaying his welcome since around, oh, the Big Daddy days. Sandler’s substantial fanbase has remained quite loyal through a long string of pretty puerile and formulaic comedies, but he’s rarely worked the cutting, imaginative edge Rogen always seems to start from.
Sandler’s co-star insists that his idol rises to the occasion this time, though.
“I’m a huge fan of Adam’s, especially his comedy albums, which were very inspirational to me,” Rogen says. “And that’s the Sandler that’s in this movie. As a fan, that’s what was most exciting, to not only get to be in a movie with him but to be in the first really filthy Adam Sandler movie. It just blew my mind to hear him say these things and swearing, it was a dream come true.
“He was, like, the funniest dude on that set,” Rogen adds; and that’s pretty high praise, considering the cast includes Jonah Hill, Leslie Mann, Sarah Silverman and Norm MacDonald. “There was no sense of him being watered down or mainstream in any way. As soon as Adam starts riffing, it’s like, he’s funnier than all of us.”
We’ll reserve judgment on that. As for those complaining of Rogen overload, at least they’ll get a reprieve for the rest of the year. The actor stopped making movies after Funny People to concentrate on getting in shape for his dream project, The Green Hornet.
His surreal/serious take on the classic action hero — otherworldly Frenchman Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) stepped in to direct after Hong Kong fabulist Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle) amicably dropped out over creative differences — should be in production as you read this.
Almost unrecognizably slim for the part, Rogen says his body may have changed, but his attitude toward giving his all physically to a role is nothing new. “I’ve seen actors being just kind of wimpy when it comes to physical stuff,” he says with a low, good-natured chuckle. “They don’t want to get hurt and they don’t want to try. But I’ll go for it, I’ll get dirty and really put myself through the wringer physically. I just think it looks better that way.”
Not that he’s implying he’s done anything special by looking so much better for the part. Rogen suggests that any healthy young guy could pull it off. They won’t enjoy it, but they can do it.
“I’m eating better and exercising,” he explains. “It’s the lamest, most unexciting explanation. And it’s the one nobody wants to hear, because everyone knows that if they do that, they’ll look better. It doesn’t only work for some people! If everyone ate better and exercised, they’d lose weight.”
So we’ll literally be seeing a lot less of Seth Rogen the next time out. That may sound like good news to those complaining of Rogen fatigue. But the more appreciative among us are simply looking forward to seeing what new tricks this ever-evolving funny person has to offer us next.
Bob Strauss lives in Los Angeles where he writes about movies and filmmakers.
Roomie reunion
As hilarious as Seth Rogen looks to be in Funny People, the film may turn out to be the pinnacle of Adam Sandler’s career. For the first time he’s melded the two Sandlers — the comedian (SNL, You Don’t Mess With the Zohan) and the serious actor (Punch-Drunk Love, Reign Over Me). And the result may be an indestructible formulation.
It’s no fluke director Judd Apatow knew the oft-maligned Sandler had that sort of performance in him. The two were roommates 20 years ago when both were struggling comics in L.A.
“We shot a lot of stand-up. So that was fun,” Apatow told ComingSoon.net about Funny People. “[Sandler]
hadn’t done stand-up in 12 years, and when we lived together — we lived together in like 1990 — we used to go to The Improv every night to do stand-up and that’s how we started. So we shot the other day at The Improv and it was really exciting.”
Word is, the film also features some grainy old video footage of Sandler’s character, George Simmons, goofing around and making prank phone calls when he was in his 20s. Only the video isn’t really of Simmons, it’s footage Apatow shot of his friend Sandler back in the day, and had the foresight to hang onto.
—Marni Weisz