"Bob Funk" Review - Written by Anthony T

Bob Funk
Year: 2009
Director: Greg Carlisle
Studio: Magnolia Pictures/Cinema Epoch
Stars: Michael Leydon Campbell, Rachel Leigh Cook, Grace Zabriskie
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 108 Mins.
Official Website: http://www.bobfunkthemovie.com/



Going into “Bob Funk”, I was expecting a laugh out loud comedy in the way of films, like “The Hangover” and “Role Models”. Instead, I got was a very entertaining dark comedy that has wit and heart to it.

Bob Funk(Michael Leydon Campbell) isn’t much of everything. He’s an outspoken loudmouth, who has ex-wife and family issues, lives on one-night stands, his mother is the boss at the place he works and has a drinking problem. His life turns, when he meets a young attractive executive (Rachel Leigh Cook), who joins his mother’s company. But things don’t last long for Bob, who is fired after his behavior becomes outrageous and obnoxious towards the new executive. His mother (Grace Zabriskie) offers him away to keep job, but Bob must do three things: see a female Psychiatrist, report to a female boss and quit drinking. If he does that, he stays in the family business, sort off. Soon, Bob realizes that there are more to life than the one that he has been previously living. The film also co-stars, Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone) Eddie Jamison (HBO’s Hung) and Stephen Root (Office Space).

One of things that make “Bob Funk” a success was Greg Carlisle’s direction. I thought, his direction was very good, as he keeps the tone of the humor to a minimum. Carlisle does that so the alcoholism subplots is handled with a degree of seriousness, as it didn’t get too outrageous or gross out to the point that the material isn’t drowned by the over the top humor. It also helps the film have a coherent story that’s not forgotten, as sometimes the humor can negate the story fully. Carlisle also did a great job with the way he directed his actors, especially with the film’s lead, Michael Leydon Campbell. I liked the way; Carlisle makes Campbell’s performance very funny during the parts, where it’s focused on his job and therapy sessions. The performances made interested in the character, when we get to see the darker side of him. That’s when Campbell’s talents began to shine, in the second half of the film. He does a good job making his character more serious at the problem at hand, when he hits the bottom of his downward spiral. It made me care more about the character and wanting to him get back to his regular position.

Carlisle also does a good job with the writing of the screenplay. I thought his story was very good. I liked how he didn’t make this film like the comedies that are coming out today; instead he creates a film that still funny, but has a message about the dangers of alcohol. He does that, by developing his main character that hasn’t gotten over an event in his life and works at a job, where his mother is the boss and drives him crazy. Another thing that makes the screenplay work was the fact that all the characters, including the main character were quirky. Carlise does that to keep your interest in the film, especially when the main character’s life begins to fall apart. It does two things. It makes you stay with the film’s story though the dark material and it makes you invested in Bob Funk, as you want him to find away out of his ordeal. That makes the story and film feel more mature. But what makes this all work for me, the way that Carlise decides to tell his story, by using more of a literary method in introducing each segment of the film. It makes the film very peculiar to the point that you’re interested in seeing where the story is going and moves the pace of the film along.

“Bob Funk” is a very funny film that has good solid performaces and a story that keeps your interest throughout.

Review Rating: Four Stars