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I'm not the type that cares too much for the likes of Judd Apatow vehicles like Superbad, Knocked Up etc. I think many people just seemed to jump on the bandwagon, though with close scrutiny they are hardly great films. However Funny People is a different beast, Apatow released a film that would not prove as popular (you just need to look at the box office figures), perhaps this was likely though given the subject matter of terminal illness, but it is easily his best film and if you give it a go you will find a profound and extremely funny drama.

The story is pretty simple, Adam Sandler's George Simmons, a successful stand-up comedian and actor's life changes when he is diagnosed with a form of leukemia, he then takes on amateur stand-up Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) as his assistant and to help write jokes for him while he continues to struggle with his illness. It's all very personal stuff from Apatow and it's clear from the start that Simmons is the most human and believable character Sandler has ever played. What follows is a series of fantastic stand-up scenes full of dick jokes and some great moments in Ira's apartment with his roommates Jonah Hill (excellent in this and check out his recent film Cyrus) and Jason Schwartzman has some great lines as a slimy sitcom star trying to beat Ira to his crush Daisy, played wonderfully deadpan by newcomer Aubrey Plaza.

It's refreshing to see a film where no shortcuts are taken, Apatow explores many dark corners and faces everything head-on but it is gladly never approached in a smug or self-indulgent way, examples are an emotionally crushing sequence where Ira tries to cheer up George by making him a iPod playlist and when George tries to salvage some kind of human connection by meeting with his estranged family members.

Clocking in at around two and half hours however, Funny People slightly outstays its welcome which is a shame as it perhaps takes the gloss off what is an absolute treat. The final half hour is easily the weakest, where the duo visit George's ex-wife Laura (Leslie Mann, very good) whom he still has feelings for but is complicated by the fact she has kids with her new husband Clarke, played by a totally unrestrained Eric Bana (great seeing him in a role like this and it's obvious he had a blast with the material). However, the whole part just drags on and feels a bit forced.

The final word has to go the performances of the central pair who are excellent. Seth Rogen is very impressive and it's good to see him a lot more dialled down and actually funny to watch. Adam Sandler is in absolutely superb, career-best, Oscar-worthy form as Simmons, mixing emotional weight and comedy to perfect effect, how he didn't at least get a nomination is beyond me. Maybe the Academy couldn't see beyond the dick jokes.

Not many people caught Funny People at the cinema but if you are willing to give it a try you will not regret it, worth seeing alone for the stand-up scenes and a string of excellent cameos (James Taylor, Eminem, Ray Romano) but it is also a great drama. I have to say however, as good as he is in this I find it disappointing to see Adam Sandler continue to do rubbish like Bedtime Stories and Grown Ups, it's obvious he never learned anything from the experience of this film but viewers definitely can.

Taking into account this L.A. set multi-stranded ensemble piece was a complete flop in America and only got a very limited cinematic release in the UK (strange considering it arguably has the best cast of any film in 2009), it's not bad at all. The 80's feel is very much like the book and the soundtrack is terrific.

The segments range from interesting to pointless; I enjoyed the stuff with Jon Foster, Austin Nichols and Amber Heard, who is absolutely stunning! The story with Mickey Rourke and the late Brad Renfro is good too but perhaps the most interesting is the one with Lou Taylor Pucci as Tim who struggles to bond with his dad (Chris Isaak) in their trip to Hawaii. The performances between the two are great and this part is very faithful to the book.

As for the pointless ones; Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger and Winona Ryder just turn up for their pay cheques while Rhys Ifans is in the film for about 10 seconds! I was disappointed they cancelled the vampire scenes, it would've been great to see Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) as Jamie. I seen an interview with Jon Foster (who plays Graham) and even he was confused to why they dropped the story, the producers must've bottled it.

I'm still trying to understand why this film has had such a quiet release and why barely anyone has heard of it. I just think the producers never spent enough on promoting the film after they interfered too much and totally soured screenwriter Nicholas Jarecki and writer Bret Easton Ellis' vision (who left the project after it drifted too far away from his novel). Ellis also claimed afterwards that director Gregor Jordan didn't get the point of the novel and ended up turning the film into an 'Australian soap opera', losing the brutality, cynicism and satire of the source material. However, apparently there was a 160 minute cut of the film he was pretty happy with and hopefully we'll see it someday (I have my doubts though). I can't help but think with all the stories and characters it would've been a much better fit to have it as like a 10-part TV series, focusing on a main character in each and have everything interweaving, could've been cool.

However, despite all the production problems and the general critical mauling I think The Informers is a decent character piece thats worth checking out, especially for the standout performances by Jon Foster and Lou Taylor Pucci. The downbeat ending is also pretty effective and along with many moments in the film, stays with you for a few days.