Funny People is a step forward for writer/director Judd Apatow even as it’s the weakest of his three films. It’s his attempt at a Manhattan or Hannah and Her Sisters (with more dick jokes), while 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up were more lightweight Annie Hall.

Don’t be misled by the Woody Allen references. Judd Apatow is no Woody Allen. But his films tread the same ground… modern relationships, wall-to-wall jokes, a showbiz milieu (with Los Angeles in place of New York City). And Apatow is the reigning voice in comedic filmmaking today, as Allen was in his heyday, though Apatow’s reach extends beyond his own films to a slew of movies he’s written and/or produced.

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