GRADE: B-

It’s Kind of a Funny Story was appealing to me for much more than funny man Zach Galifianakis heading the cast. The story is what really intrigued me. A smart teenager named Craig is gifted with many pleasures of the suburban lifestyle but is plagued with a bout of depression brought on by the pressure of being a success in the looming future. Instead of attempting to kill himself like his inner most thoughts and dreams lead on, he checks himself into the psychiatric wing of a hospital. The movie unfolds as Craig meets Galifianakis’ character Bobby and a cast of other patients in the ward whom help Craig realize the person he really wants to be.

Craig is played Keir Gilchrist, an unknown actor who fits into this insecure persona very well. Gilchrist had no problems carrying the movie acting-wise, it’s just the character he played was not very engaging. The movie uses Craig’s narration to help the audience understand his “depressing” situation, uses flashbacks to help us visualize his circumstances, and brings us into Craig’s dreams to show us his attempted suicide. Even with all that, the first thirty minutes of the movie I was bored, not to death, but substantially bored. By taking so long to hit its stride I have a feeling many people seeing It’s Kind of a Funny Story with short attention spans (most of the American public) will not give this movie a chance. So, if you quit reading halfway through that last sentence, consider yourself one of the “most” mentioned above.

The pacing in the movie isn’t slow throughout. As Craig meets the people who call the psychiatric ward home It’s Kind of a Funny Story, begins to pick up in pace, interest, and reveals the inviting stories of the special residents of the psychiatric ward . For being a Focus Features “indie flick,” the movie itself was pretty run-of-the-mill in some aspects. The conflict of choosing between “the girl loved forever” and “the new girl” is run into the ground by cinema, and this movie adds no twist to that plot line. This is far from the most compelling story arc in the movie, but it’s just an example of how the filmmakers (Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck)  failed to really be creative with parts of this story.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story flourishes in the relationships between Craig and his fellow patients. He cozies up to Emma Roberts’ (Julia Roberts’ niece) character Noelle and forges a strong bond with Bobby. Craig’s relationships with Noelle and Bobby are the only things I really loved about this movie (besides the wonderful soundtrack and the outbursts from a schizophrenic patient). Craig is only mildly interesting on his own. His character alone is not worth structuring a movie around. However, Craig’s interaction with the people around him really provides for some delightful story lines. Seeing him help the less fortunate and less intelligent people around him moved this movie from below average, to just above it.

Overall, the story was intriguing, but the writers tried too hard to have Gilchrist carry the emotional weight on his own early in the film. As the movie hit its stride down the stretch it became a story propelled by the cast of characters. The movie was advertised more as a comedy than a narrative with serious story lines, but the filmmakers did a good job of mixing the two. While It’s Kind of a Funny Story did have its funnier moments, don’t go in expecting a laugh fest from Galifianakis and the film’s other funny man Jim Gaffigan (he plays a serious role).

It’s Kind of a Funny Story didn’t even crack the top ten at the box office its opening weekend. If you want to see it in theaters, you better get out soon because it will not last long on the big screen.

What Should You Do? I recommend a matinee or wait for the rental.