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IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY

"Teenager Flies Over the Cuckoo’s Nest"

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IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY is the story of Craig, a depressed 16-year-old. Craig is caught between his workaholic father, his manipulative mother, schoolwork, and his best friend sleeping with the girl of his dreams. After entertaining thoughts of suicide, he checks himself into the psychiatric ward of the local hospital. However, the nurse tells him the teenage ward is under repair, so they take Craig to the adult ward. While there, he changes the lives of the people in the ward and himself.

IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY is an appropriate title, considering that it’s not really funny. It’s kind of funny, but it’s more heartwarming than anything else. Craig’s positive impact on the other patients in the ward is fascinating but unbelievable given his five-day stay in the ward. Ultimately, the story moves too slowly and is highly forgettable. It also solves problems in an emotional way that appeals to the goodness within human nature rather than to God. Finally, there is some disturbing lewd content involving teenagers, foul language and themes of suicide. For more information about this and other movies, please go to Movieguide.org.

HEADLINE: ** Teenager Flies Over the Cuckoo’s Nest **

Title: IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY

Quality: * * Acceptability: -3

SUBTITLES: None

WARNING CODES:

Language: LL

Violence: V

Sex: SS

Nudity: NN

RATING: PG-13

RELEASE: October 8, 2010

TIME: 101 minutes

STARRING: Keir Gilchrist, Dana DeVestern, Lauren Graham, Jim Gaffigan, Zach Galifianakis, Zoe Kravitz, Viola Davis, Emma Roberts

DIRECTOR: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck

PRODUCERS: Ben Browning, Kevin Misher

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Patrick Baker, Michael Maher, Peter Rawlinson, Jeremy Kipp Walker

WRITER: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck

BASED ON THE NOVEL BY: Ned Vizzini

DISTRIBUTOR: Overture Films/Starz LLC

CONTENT: (PaPa, RoRo, Acap, Ev, Co, AP, Ho, B, LL, V, SS, NN, D, MM) Strong, mostly mixed pagan worldview with elements of Romanticism and human emotion is extolled, joke that analyzes capitalism, quick shot of students reading an evolution book and a Noam Chomsky book, anti-patriotic comment about woman who goes insane because of Bush’s passing of the Patriot Act, one character is a transsexual, and man prays the AA Prayer, “God give me the strength to accept the things I cannot change, etc.”; 10 obscenities, four profanities, one obscene gesture, and teenager vomits in several different scenes; violence includes young man has dream of jumping off a bridge to commit suicide but he wakes up, man has angry psychological breakdown and throws books off shelves while yelling and screaming, and guy is pushed down to the floor during a basketball; teenagers’ sexual relationship is discussed several times, boy is turned on physically, teenager gropes teenage girl while kissing, several scenes of unmarried teenage kissing, and mention of female genitalia; girl draws a picture of male genitals to imply derogatory name-calling to guy, upper male nudity, female cleavage, woman’s bare back shown; no alcohol; no smoking but psychiatric patients take prescription meds in hospital; and, lying, cheating, name-calling between psychiatric patients, and boy has an emotionally absent father who is only interested in his son’s accomplishments.

GENRE: Drama

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Teenagers and adults

REVIEWER: Dallas Amsden

REVIEW: IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY, based on the novel of the same name by Ned Vizzini, is the story of Craig, a depressed 16-year-old who checks himself into the psychiatric ward of a local hospital after he has thoughts of committing suicide. While there, Craig finds some unlikely friendships with the other patients.

With the burden of being in an advanced placement high school, the pressure of his workaholic father’s idea of success, the weight of his mother’s emotional manipulation, and the emotional strain of knowing his best friend is having relations with the girl of his dreams, Craig is at an emotional breaking point. After entertaining thoughts of suicide, he decides to check himself into the psychiatric ward of the local hospital. However, when the nurse tells him the teenage ward is under repair, Craig is taken to the adult ward.

While there, Craig mixes with a lively cast of characters. From Bobby (played by Zach Galifianakis) who soon becomes Craig’s mentor, to Noelle (played by Emma Roberts), another depressed 16-year-old who soon gains his affection, Craig quickly impacts a number of the patients in the ward. Consequently, he changes both their lives and his.

IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY is an appropriate title, considering that it is not really funny. It is kind of funny, but it is more heartwarming than anything else. Craig’s positive impact on the other patients in the ward is fascinating but incredulous, given his short, five-day stay in the ward. The scene-stealing performance of this movie, however, comes from Zach Galifianakis. He deftly captures the essence of a broken man who has missed many opportunities, yet still has a hope for the future. His delivery is comedic and poignant, all at the same time. That said, the movie is slow moving but decently crafted; yet, it is highly forgettable.

IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY has some Romantic worldview problems, which extol human emotion and overcoming problems by the good nature within humanity. There is also some disturbing sexual content that involves teenagers, including several conversations of an inappropriate teenage relationship and a teenager gropes a young woman while they are kissing. The movie contains some foul language and mild violence and one briefly highlighted cross-dressing character.

Please address your comments to:

Robert Clasen, Chairman/CEO

Starz LLC (Starz Entertainment, Overture Films, Anchor Bay Films)

8900 Liberty Circle

Englewood, CO 80112

Phone: (720) 852-7700; Fax: (720) 852-8555

Website: www.starz.com

SUMMARY: IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY is the story of Craig, a depressed 16-year-old who checks himself into a psychiatric ward when he entertains thoughts of suicide. IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY has some heartwarming moments, but it is slow and highly forgettable, with some disturbing themes, some foul language and emotional solutions to human problems.

IN BRIEF:

IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY is the story of Craig, a depressed 16-year-old. Craig is caught between his workaholic father, his manipulative mother, schoolwork, and his best friend sleeping with the girl of his dreams. After entertaining thoughts of suicide, he checks himself into the psychiatric ward of the local hospital. However, the nurse tells him the teenage ward is under repair, so they take Craig to the adult ward. While there, he changes the lives of the people in the ward and himself.

IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY is an appropriate title, considering that it’s not really funny. It’s kind of funny, but it’s more heartwarming than anything else. Craig’s positive impact on the other patients in the ward is fascinating but unbelievable given his five-day stay in the ward. Ultimately, the story moves too slowly and is highly forgettable. It also solves problems in an emotional way that appeals to the goodness within human nature rather than to God. Finally, there is some disturbing lewd content involving teenagers, foul language and themes of suicide. For more information about this and other movies, please go to Movieguide.org.

Content:

(PaPa, RoRo, Acap, Ev, Co, AP, Ho, B, LL, V, SS, NN, D, MM) Strong, mostly mixed pagan worldview with elements of Romanticism and human emotion is extolled, joke that analyzes capitalism, quick shot of students reading an evolution book and a Noam Chomsky book, anti-patriotic comment about woman who goes insane because of Bush’s passing of the Patriot Act, one character is a transsexual, and man prays the AA Prayer, “God give me the strength to accept the things I cannot change, etc.”; 10 obscenities, four profanities, one obscene gesture, and teenager vomits in several different scenes; violence includes young man has dream of jumping off a bridge to commit suicide but he wakes up, man has angry psychological breakdown and throws books off shelves while yelling and screaming, and guy is pushed down to the floor during a basketball; teenagers’ sexual relationship is discussed several times, boy is turned on physically, teenager gropes teenage girl while kissing, several scenes of unmarried teenage kissing, and mention of female genitalia; girl draws a picture of male genitals to imply derogatory name-calling to guy, upper male nudity, female cleavage, woman’s bare back shown; no alcohol; no smoking but psychiatric patients take prescription meds in hospital; and, lying, cheating, name-calling between psychiatric patients, and boy has an emotionally absent father who is only interested in his son’s accomplishments.

More Detail:

IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY, based on the novel of the same name by Ned Vizzini, is the story of Craig, a depressed 16-year-old who checks himself into the psychiatric ward of a local hospital after he has thoughts of committing suicide. While there, Craig finds some unlikely friendships with the other patients.

With the burden of being in an advanced placement high school, the pressure of his workaholic father’s idea of success, the weight of his mother’s emotional manipulation, and the emotional strain of knowing his best friend is having relations with the girl of his dreams, Craig is at an emotional breaking point. After entertaining thoughts of suicide, he decides to check himself into the psychiatric ward of the local hospital. However, when the nurse tells him the teenage ward is under repair, Craig is taken to the adult ward.

While there, Craig mixes with a lively cast of characters. From Bobby (played by Zach Galifianakis) who soon becomes Craig’s mentor, to Noelle (played by Emma Roberts), another depressed 16-year-old who soon gains his affection, Craig quickly impacts a number of the patients in the ward. Consequently, he changes both their lives and his.

IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY is an appropriate title, considering that it is not really funny. It is kind of funny, but it is more heartwarming than anything else. Craig’s positive impact on the other patients in the ward is fascinating but incredulous, given his short, five-day stay in the ward. The scene-stealing performance of this movie, however, comes from Zach Galifianakis. He deftly captures the essence of a broken man who has missed many opportunities, yet still has a hope for the future. His delivery is comedic and poignant, all at the same time. That said, the movie is slow moving but decently crafted; yet, it is highly forgettable.

IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY has some Romantic worldview problems, which extol human emotion and overcoming problems by the good nature within humanity. There is also some disturbing sexual content that involves teenagers, including several conversations of an inappropriate teenage relationship and a teenager gropes a young woman while they are kissing. The movie contains some foul language and mild violence and one briefly highlighted cross-dressing character.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.