It's Kind of a Funny Story... (Movie Review)

Now, I don't know if I'll make it a habit of reviewing movies or not, but if a movie gives me a reason to say how bad or how good or it is, I might feel compelled to do so. Keep in mind I've never done a real film review before, so bare with me.

It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0804497/

This film is putting a picture to the story of when you hear about teens who find themselves in a bout with depression. Most people blow off this idea, wondering why a teenager would ever have any reason to be stressed out to the point of wanting to kill themselves. Well, this movie somewhat satirically makes fun of that idea, but also puts into perspective why a kid might feel this way and gives a legitimate tale of the funny story of life and its problems.

As the film starts out, we meet our main character, Craig, played by Keir Gilchrist. He's a "depressed" teenager, in a dream where he's walking over the middle bypass of a bridge in New York City (pardon my lacking geography skills). Before he's about to jump, he's greeted with his family, including the hilarious Jim Gaffigan, standing on the side casually. The scene brings a great sense of humor, detracting from the seriousness of the situation and giving a funny side, while still giving a legitimately believable performance. This is something the film likes to do quite often, throwing you back and forth between serious moments and becoming light heartened. But the way the director does this is great, as he still shows the seriousness of the subject matter, but at the same time the title is applied throughout the scenes, reminding us how funny it all really is out of perspective.

Eventually our main character finds himself convincing his doctor to allow him to be admitted into the psychiatric ward of the hospital, where he's greeted with more than he expected. Thinking he's took a wrong turn going here after seeing the other patients, he tries to leave, but to no avail. We then proceed to meet the larger cast of characters, including Zach Galifianakis and Emma Roberts, both of which are amazing actors in this film. The movie continues to show us the ups and downs of his life staying at the hospital, and lets us know that we're not the only ones who go through phases of depression. Not only does the ending admit that this isn't a tale of a teenager going through this once and coming out better forever, it acknowledges the truth of depression and that this is only the start, but life goes on. The final montage at the end of the film is amazingly well done, especially with how well the music fits in.

Overall, I would give the film an 8 out of 10. It's certainly not one of the best films I've ever seen, but although not entirely original, it still gave off a vibe that it brought something new and unseen to the table. Either way, I'd recommend seeing it at least once by yourself. By the end, you'll want to go outside and hug someone close to you.