Funny Bones

Despite the film being titled "Funny Bones" and having Jerry Lewis in the cast, this really isn't a comedy. Yes, I noticed that the picture currently shown for this film on IMDb says "A zany look at two comedians who will do anything for a laugh"--but this really is a lot of hyperbole. This isn't a knock against the film--just a knock at how it was marketed. I think you should be prepared for the type of film you are about to see.

"Funny Bones" begins with some sort of deal going bad on the water off of Blackpool, England. One man is chopped up by the blades of a boat and another is forced to jump into the water to save himself. What exactly happened and why is a complete mystery and bits and pieces of this are interspersed throughout the film.

The film then very abruptly changes to Las Vegas. A terribly unfunny man, Tommy Fawkes (Oliver Platt), is about to make his big debut at one of the big clubs. Not surprisingly, he bombs--and folks start walking out during his act. Now this happens from time to time...but what makes it different is that the guy is the son of a legendary comedian, George Fawkes (Jerry Lewis). It's obviously difficult living in your father's shadow--especially when you aren't talented. Soon Tommy disappears--and ends up in Blackpool to see if he can buy an act for himself. Now he knows he is terrible at telling jokes--so he wants to see if he can learn physical comedy. During this process, he accidentally bumps into some folks who have a dark connection to his dad--and learns several terrible secrets about his old man. I could say a lot more, but it would spoil the film.

In addition to the main plot discussed above, the plot begun at the start of the film seemed a bit dark, confusing and unnecessary--and not especially well integrated into the rest of the movie. It seemed to have VERY little to do with the Fawkes story and was choppy and seemed to get in the way of the main story--which was very compelling as I found myself wanting to see more interaction between Platt and Lewis. I also enjoyed was seeing some of the strange burlesque-style acts. Some were very funny and some were just cool. This was a nice little homage to the English acts which used to be big in Blackpool. But, the dark and violent elements of the story just seemed to get in the way and muddle the picture. Good but it could have been a lot better.

This film is a very underrated gem - it cant be put into a nice little box like Hollywood always wants to do with projects. "This is a wacky comedy" "This is a dark family drama", etc. You could tell they did not know how to market the film when it first came out in the US. They made it look like a wacky farce which it is not. This film works as a dark comedy about talent, those that have it and those that dont and yes, Jerry lewis gives a strong performance (right up there with King Of Comedy)and Lee Evans is a marvel as a talented comedian and Oliver Platt gives one ofhis best performances as an untalented offspring of a legend. Worth seeing - just dont expect slapstick, expect three-dimensional flawed people trying to make peace with one another and get through their torn lives.

How did I never hear of Lee Evans before I saw this movie? He is my new idol. When this movie came out, I gave it a miss because of Jerry Lewis (King of Comedy notwithstanding -- he gives me the creeps, man), but I caught it on Sundance the other night and was bowled over. It starts out sorta weird, but then hooks you with the story of this guy trying to be a standup comic in the shadow of his showbiz-legend dad (is there any worse word than "showbiz"? Maybe "node," but other than that, "showbiz" is just such a bad word!!!), and then all of a sudden you are in Blackpool, England, being treated to (a) some amazing vaudeville performers from an era sadly gone by, and (b) some amazing performances by clowny guys (not the creepy kind), and (c) Leslie Caron singing a torch song in a man-tailored shirt, and (d) a beautiful story of lost dreams, redemption, and wax eggs. Rent it, fool. Rent it now if you have a funny bone in your body.

When I first saw this film I thought that it was brilliant. At first it seemed to have an amateurish quality about it, but this turned out not to be true. What I thought was amateurish about it turned out to be the sound. The ever present ocean seems to add to the sound quality as if the viewer were really there, experiencing what actually happened.

This is undoubtedly one of Oliver Platt's best roles. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the intriguing Mr.Fawkes. Lee Evans was also unbelievably riveting in his portrayal as the mentally disturbed young man.

This film is very representative of the small town in Britain with it's quiet undisturbed population that seems to be frozen in time, in contrast to Fawkes's father's life in America, which is busy and ever-changing, where the most important thing in life is money, as opposed to memories being just as important back in the small British town.

The best part of the film is watching (in small parts) the unravelling of the horrific event that had happened so many years before and turned the young man (played by Lee Evans) into the person he is today.

A riveting watch. See it.

I had seen the standard shots of this film when it came out and thought that the comedy seemed pretty bad - which put me off seeing it in the cinema.

However, now that it's been on TV I would like to recommend it to anyone who wants to see a film which has an original story, interesting characters, unusual settings, great acting, great photography.... generally the opposite of the usual Hollywood fare I usually have to suffer because of my friends.

So, to sum up, it's been marketed wrongly - this is not a film which you should see for a laugh; it's a film which constantly surprises - not least in dramatic turns in the story.

Loved it - 9/10