By Laura Swanbeck
Judd Apatow has never been one to play it safe. After cutting his teeth in the competitive world of stand-up comedy and blending male hijinks, self-deprecating humor, and an unexpected sweetness in The 40-Year Old Virgin (2005) and Knocked Up (2007), Apatow returns to his old stomping grounds while branching out in Funny People. Marking a somber departure, the film stars friend and former roommate, Adam Sandler, as George Simmons, a successful, self-involved comedian, who learns he has a rare and possibly incurable blood disease. While George starts mentoring fledgling comedian, Ira Wright (Seth Rogen), he also makes amends with Laura, a lost love (Leslie Mann) who is now a mother and married to an intimidating Aussie (Eric Bana). Amping up the stakes even more, George’s health suddenly improves. Now that he has all the time in the world, will he still feel compelled to fix his fragile relationships or will he relapse into a meaningless malaise of partying and acting in mediocre movies? Suspended between tragedy and comedy, Apatow walks a fine line, acknowledging the inevitable pull of mortality as well as the importance of laughter in the face of death. I sat down with the funnyman on his recent press tour to talk about his latest film.