Here's a friendly word of advice: Adjust your expectations for Funny People. If you're a Judd Apatow fan, and you loved Freaks and Geeks and The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, and you think, as I do, that Apatow is consistently involved with some of the funniest and least-insulting comedies being made, then you're probably pretty excited for his newest--especially given the film's standup comedy bent and impressive list of participating actors. Well, dial it down a bit. Funny People is a long and not unentertaining cancer comedy (think Beaches with dick jokes) that splices together elements of every Apatow project to date--but it's less the pinnacle of his filmmaking than a synthesis of every theme he's spent his career exploring. by Alison Hallett