It’s Kind of a Funny Story

It’s Kind of a Funny Story follows depressive and suicidal teen Craig (Keir Gilchrist) as he checks himself into a mental ward at a local hospital, with the movie subsequently detailing Craig’s encounters with the ward’s various residents and doctors. Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck have infused It’s Kind of a Funny Story with an easy-going and light-hearted sensibility that generally proves impossible to resist, and it’s worth noting that the filmmakers manage to elicit engaging performances from even the most minor of supporting players. There’s little doubt, however, that it’s Gilchrist’s easy charm that generally sustains the viewer’s interest, as the actor does a superb job of transforming Craig into a likeable figure that generally feels real. (And it also goes without saying that Zach Galifianakis, cast as a charismatic patient, delivers his finest screen performance to date.) The movie’s dramatic aspects have been integrated surprisingly well into the otherwise comedic narrative, while Boden and Fleck’s sporadically overt instances of style generally fare a whole lot better than one might’ve expected (eg an impromptu performance of Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure”). There’s little doubt, however, that the unabashedly conventional nature of the narrative does become increasingly troublesome as time passes, with the inclusion of a few eye-rollingly melodramatic elements (eg was the love triangle really necessary?) ultimately diminishing the movie’s overall impact. Still, It’s Kind of a Funny Story is generally a breezy piece of work that does what it sets out to do with charm and aplomb.

**1/2 out of ****