It's Kind of a Funny Story

And it's kind of a funny movie! Keir Gilchrist plays with authenticity a suicidal 16 year old named Craig Gilner. Craig decides one day to check himself into a clinic and they put him in the mental ward. And guess what! the teen mental ward is undergoing construction so they have to be with the adult coo-coo's. His absent parents who experience minimal shock that their son has checked himself in seem to be an unfortunate afterthought to the film. This isn't a realistic movie but at times it tries to be. Despite the general implausibility of the film, it's amusing. Zach Galifianakis plays the also amusing and quite charming co-mental patient to Craig. We also get the starry Emma Roberts as a love interest. It's kind of a stupid setting for It's Kind of a Funny Story but the directors and writers of the film have a sense for what to do with the comedy. They do what they can and so do the actors, its really just the idea here that wasn't very well formed. Everyone's very entertaining and all of the other mental patients are clichés but still manage to be moderately interesting. The entire film is pretty average. If only they could have moved the film to the big city! It would be fascinating if Galifianakis' character was a mentally unstable man who Craig meets and in the end convinces Galifianakis to get help. Damn the setting!! It's Kind of a Funny Story is an above average romantic comedy that still ends up being an average comedy. It's good fun if you're willing to forget everything you know about common sense.
It's Kind of a Funny Story: ★★★
Note: A good pick-up line is not: Hey, what's up, I don't know if this interests you but....I was just in a mental institution....