It's Kind Of A Funny Story-- A Review

The great thing about the movies is that every so often, you'll stumble across a movie that just makes you feel happier about things. Life, liberty, the pursuit of whatever- you just watch it and when you're done, you can't help but smile and think about how good life really is.

It's Kind Of A Funny Story is one of those movies. (The other that springs to mind, at least for me, is Love Actually.) It is the story of a depressed teenager, Craig (Keir Gilchrist) who is stressed, miserable and depressed to the point where he's considering suicide- and decides to check himself into the local psych ward for a week.

Initially, he tries to back out and claim he's better- but eventually he decides to commit to giving it a try and make some friends as a result. The first is Bobby (Zach Galifianakis) who is in the ward for crippling depression and despite having a daughter has attempted suicide six times. The two strike up a friendship and attempt to help each other out a little bit- Bobby helping Craig find the courage to ask a girl out, Craig helping Bobby see that life is worth living- at least for his daughter.

Craig also meets Noelle (Emma Roberts) who is in the ward for self-mutilation and develops a crush on her. Over the course of the week, Craig comes to grips with the pressure to succeed and the stress in his life that is making him so depressed and comes to the realization that he doesn't want to be a high-powered lawyer or banker- he wants to pursue his passion for art. He comes to realize that his stay hasn't cured him, but has given him perspective enough on life that anything else he'll be able to get through with the help of his friends and family.

(Of course there's more to the story than this. But I don't want to spoil anything for anyone... go see the movie!)

Overall: ***(out of 4) This is a good, solid movie that's worth a peek- and double kudos to this movie for managing not to get weighted down with emo cliches and darkness. Worth a RedBox run if you're looking for something to watch this weekend...