Movie Review of ‘It’s Kind of a Funny Story’

By: Mary Grace Donaldson
Posted In: Entertainment

Picture a typical hospital wing: plain white walls, no windows, bustling nurses and the doctor passing through on a tight schedule. Add a multitude of seemingly anonymous patients who have no sense of what is happening around them and who may or may not be talking to themselves. In the middle of this chaos stands an awkward high school boy who has nowhere to turn except where he is standing in the moment. Enter into this scene and you’ll understand “It’s Kind of a Funny Story.”

The film is an example of a good lesson in appreciating what you have, although at the time it may seem like there is nothing to gain from life. Craig’s recovery seems a bit fast in comparison to people who suffer from depression in real life; however, it was a two-hour movie and the producers needed to tie up loose ends. There would be no lesson to be gained from the film if Craig did not emerge from the hospital with a new outlook on life. The film is seemingly designed to give hope to those who are feeling even a microcosm of what Craig felt at the beginning of the film as he stood on the Brooklyn Bridge.

The film is based off Ned Vizzini’s book of the same title, chronicling the experiences of a high school boy from New York City who is dealing with a serious case of depression. Craig Gilner, played by “United States of Tara’s” Keir Gilchrist, is a student at New York’s application-only Executive Pre-Professional High School. He gives his audience a synopsis of his life from atop the Brooklyn Bridge, as he seemingly talks himself out of jumping off the edge. He talks about his mountains of schoolwork, the girl he’s been obsessed with for years but who is dating his so-called best friend and how his parents are nice people but just don’t understand.

The scene on the bridge moves quickly to Craig dialing the suicide hotline. In the book version, Craig takes a bit more time to contemplate what he is going to do about his problem and explains his home and social lives before taking action. The action moves very fast in the film version, and a viewer who has not read the book may not be able to make the leap right into where Craig winds up next: the psychiatric ward.

The viewer next gets to see more pieces of Craig’s life as he moves through each stage of his stay at the psych ward. We learn about his high school when he realizes that he must face his teachers and principal. We learn about his parents, (his mom is played by Lauren Graham aka Lorelai Gilmore,) and little sister when they come to visit him. We learn about his so-called best friend, Aaron, when he calls him from the pay phone at the hospital. In addition to learning about Craig’s life, the psych patients are introduced into the story.

The psych patients being introduced in tandem with Craig’s past make for a lot of information for viewers to absorb; however, they are possibly the best part of the film. Most of their characters are extremely developed and well-portrayed. Craig meets Bobby, played by Zach Galifianakis, who poses as a doctor in the psych waiting room. Craig soon learns that Bobby is a patient with an interesting back story: he is trying to put his life back together after his wife and 9-year old daughter left him homeless. Bobby sees potential in Craig, and wishes a better life for him. Through the rest of the film, a unique and unsuspected friendship forms between young Craig and the older Bobby. They inspire each other to new heights as Craig needs help facing his life at school, and Bobby tries to get his life back on track through possible entry into a group home and visits with his daughter.

Craig also finds love during his stay. He meets the mysterious Noelle, played by Emma Roberts, who is covered in scars. Their relationship takes some time to get off the ground, and Craig is still in the process of getting over Nia, Aaron’s girlfriend. Eventually, through true, profound honesty, the teenagers are able to find love in each other.

In the midst of these adventures Craig is able to look at his own life circumstances and re-evaluate his outlook once he discovers what it is he really loves to do and wants to do, and is able to address that with his pushy father. He learns that while he may think his situation is worst, things can always get worse. By the end of the film he is discharged, and is thinking about all of the new steps he wishes to take.

Overall, the film, while unrealistic at points, gives a great message through great acting and stellar, true-to-life characters.