Judd Apatow returns to filmmaking with his latest, The King of Staten Island. Starring, and co-written, by Pete Davidson the film is a semi-biographical adaptation of Davidson’s life; he plays Scott and 20-something man, still living at home and still adjusting to the death of his father. It’s the type of material that Apatow excels at. His characters (while also falling into ridiculous or embarrassing situations) often find themselves trying to joke their way through tragic or uncomfortable circumstances.
As a director, he’s particularly good at getting complex performances out of his actors. The balance of drama and comedy is a difficult one to achieve, however, the genre has had some really strong contenders, particularly in the last ten years.
Juno (2007)
With an Academy Award-winning script, an endlessly repeatable soundtrack, and a star-making performance for Ellen Page, there is a lot to love in Juno. This dramedy about teenage pregnancy is part romance, part coming-of-age, part domestic drama and layers and layers of meaning can be found in all of them. One of the strengths of the genre is the way it can have the audience laughing in one scene and then more thoughtful in the next. Juno can crack wise about the awkward nature of her high school romance while also exposing the strains and difficulties of an adult marriage.
Lady Bird (2017)
Lady Bird is probably best described as a coming-of-age drama, but without anyone, really, coming of age. Lady Bird’s final year of high school is a roller coaster. She’s too ready to leave her close-knit Sacramento community, but not quite ready for the wider world.
It’s a film about never really being in the right place or the right time. Lady Bird’s fights with her mother are as hilarious as they are vicious, but they also expose the changing nature of their relationship. It’s a film that suggests change is neither good nor bad, but it is necessary.
50/50 (2011)
Based on the screenwriter’s own life, 50/50 is a comedy about a young man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who receives an unexpected cancer diagnosis. A lot of movies about self-discovery will begin their characters just as they lost their job or their partner and watch as they pick themselves up. 50/50 opens with a much harder edge and as a result, it brings new energy to the bittersweet comedy (winning some very dark laughs from the audience) and a new depth to the tragic moments. With great performances (particularly, a rare supporting role for Seth Rogen) the film is emotional while still finding ways to be uplifting.
The Way Way Back (2013)
14-year-old Duncan is on his way to a summer holiday he doesn’t want to go on, with his mom and his overbearing step-father. Resigned to having a miserable time, Duncan wanders into a lively group of water-park employees who eventually become a surrogate family. In the years since its release, some of its humor hasn’t aged well.
However, at its heart is a bittersweet and poignant story with great performances; particularly Steve Carrell as the bullying step-father and Sam Rockwell as the charismatic, but flawed, water-park manager.
Beginners (2010)
A breakthrough film from director Mike Mills (who has gone on to produce consistently good work), Beginners stars Ewan McGregor as an artist in a mid-life crisis. Completely blindsided by his elderly father’s announcement that not only does he have terminal cancer but that he is gay, McGregor stumbles through a life that makes increasingly less sense. The film itself is told in a quirky style; constantly trying to give the audience a new perspective on life, that reflects the main character’s own disruption. While it struggles to find meaning in life, it celebrates the ability to always find something new.
Away We Go (2009)
Written by real-life couple Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida the film stars Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski on a road trip to find their perfect home to start a family. It has an episodic structure as the heavily pregnant Verona and the ever-optimistic Burt travel between friends and family seeing different snatches of life across America. Hilarious in places (Maggie Gyllenhaal is a particular highlight), the film, like all road movies, is really about self-discovery, which is always harder to do with two people.
A Serious Man (2009)
The Coen brothers have always been obsessed with the chaotic and confusing nature of the universe and this film may well be their masterpiece (or at least one of them). Larry Gopnik, simultaneously learns that his job might be under threat, his wife is leaving him for another man, his son is being bullied and his brother might be crazy. Larry stumbles through his suburban life, which starts to feel increasingly weird and oppressive, desperately looking for meaning that he never finds. Endlessly rewatchable, the film is layered with meaning but any explanation is just out of reach.
The Farewell (2019)
‘Based on an actual lie’ is the subheading to this brilliant contemporary drama. Awkwafina plays Billi, a young artist who learns that her grandmother has terminal cancer. Her family decides to return to China to spend time with her with a caveat; no one can tell her she’s ill and they must all pretend they’re there for a wedding.
While it certainly leans more towards drama than comedy, there are several brilliant scenes where the family nearly crack under the pressure of the secret. A film that stays long after it’s finished as it opens big questions about the value of honesty for the sake of kindness, or cruelty.
Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
It may be one of P.T. Anderson’s most surreal films, but it is fast becoming one of his most revered. Ostensibly a romance, the film explores love as an extreme emotion, never that far away from rage of violence. Adam Sandler is given one of his first opportunities to showcase the underused range of his acting talent as Barry Egan a slightly strange, but obsessive, salesman. Some see the film as an anti-romcom, others as an allegory for Superman; whatever it may be about, it has now become a modern classic.
The Big Sick (2017)
Based on the real-life relationship of writers Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani is one of the most original romcom/dramedies of recent years, and rightfully deserved its Oscar nomination. Kumail plays himself, with Zoe Kazan as Emily who, not long after the two begin dating, falls very ill and is induced into a coma. Kumail then spends most of his time looking after her and her very nervous parents. The two leads are excellent, but so is the rest of the cast, in this excellent movie that manages to find love in tragedy and tragedy in love.
