Tuesday’s Top Trailer: It’s Kind of a Funny Story

Welcome to a weekly feature here at Movies with Abe, Tuesday's Top Trailer. One of my favorite parts about going to see movies is the series of trailers that airs beforehand and, more often than not, the trailer is far better than the actual film. Each week, I'll be sharing a trailer I've recently seen. Please chime in with comments on what you think of the trailer and how you think the movie is going to be.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story – Opening September 24, 2010



I caught this trailer online thanks to Awards Daily and found myself extremely entertained. Before watching it, I read that it was directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the married couple behind the Oscar-nominated 2006 drama “Half Nelson” starring Ryan Gosling. Worth noting about that film is that it’s an immensely serious and powerful film and demonstrates an extraordinary performance from 17-year-old Shareeka Epps. That bodes well for this film, which stars 17-year-old Keir Gilchrist as a mental hospital patient. This is clearly much lighter fare, but given Boden and Fleck’s deft handling of disturbing and troubling material in their earlier film, it should be no problem to produce a meaningful and apparently hilarious dramedy. The first thing about the trailer that stands out is Zach Galifianakis as a fellow patient who initially poses as a doctor and strikes up a conversation with Gilchrist’s Craig. Galifianakis was the breakout star of last summer’s comedy smash “The Hangover,” and this looks like a pitch-perfect role for him. He’s not the only one, since Jeremy Davis appears momentarily as another patient who looks like he hasn’t even changed out of his Daniel Faraday wardrobe from “Lost.” With a cast like this, “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” could be the best film with a six-word title about a mental hospital since “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Throw in Emma Roberts as Craig’s patient love interest and Lauren Graham as his mom and this has the makings of a truly great ensemble. This reminds me a lot of “Charlie Bartlett,” which was a really fun film, and I think this could be a big hit of the fall. Do you agree?