In discussing ""It's Kind of a Funny Story,"" the new movie from Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the operative words are ""kind of."" The writer-director duo of ""Sugar"" and ""Half Nelson"" have created a film with all the ingredients of your typical indie dramedy: the upper-middle class, depressed teen protagonist, the cute and obscure, rebellious girl whom he will inevitably fall for and the zany cast of unique characters which they encounter during their quest to cope. However, in ""It's Kind of a Funny Story,"" setting takes precedent to character, and the results are only kind of, well, only kind of anything.
""It's Kind of a Funny Story"" follows a depressed teenager, Craig, played by Keir Gilchrist, who struggles to deal with the pressures of his everyday life. Craig checks himself into a psychiatric ward one night after contemplating suicide. Due to a renovation to the hospital's teen ward, Craig is instead brought to the adult psyche ward. He is charged to stay there for a minimum of five days, and the story begins there, kind of.
Ultimately, it is not any single character that aids in Craig's growth, but the psyche ward as a whole that leads to the change in Craig's character. The film is essentially a fish-out-of-water story. Craig is placed in a setting where he doesn't belong (an adult psyche ward) and because of this, he comes to the realization that his problems are not as terrible as he had imagined. Character is subordinate to setting, and the story can be compared to a wide, shallow pool in which there are many characters but none with any depth.
This lack of character depth is unfortunate because the performances are strong, especially that of Zach Galifianakis. The ""Hangover"" star is brilliant in his role as Bobby, the charismatic ringleader of the ward. Underneath the ironic air of charisma that Bobby exudes is a suggestion of something darker. This something is brought to the surface in a few brief scenes of pain and anger.
These scenes are striking in the way they contrast with the rest of the film, but they are fleeting––disappearing as suddenly as they come. In this manner, the film only briefly touches on what could have been a much deeper exploration of character. Instead, the film focuses on a love story subplot, one which requires Craig to choose between the girl of his dreams and the cute teen psyche patient Noelle, played by Emma Roberts. The loose ends of
the plot are tied up quickly and cleanly, and the film retains its cutesie, light-heartedness without venturing beneath the barely scratched surface.
At 90 minutes, ""It's Kind of a Funny Story"" could stand to add some depth. As it is, it leaves the viewer wanting. It's not that the film isn't funny, or enjoyable. Rather, it's only kind of funny and enjoyable––and it could have been so much more.
