Funny Pages

Name: Funny Pages
Genre: Comedy
Released: August 26, 2022
Duration: 86 min
Rating: 73
Cast: Cleveland Thomas Jr., Daniel Zolghadri, Josh Pais, Marcia DeBonis, Maria Dizzia

2022

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 8 Ratings

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5.9

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5.9	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 8 Ratings

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Funny Pages

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Movie Details & Credits

A24 | Release Date: August 26, 2022 | Not Rated

Starring: Cleveland Thomas Jr., Daniel Zolghadri, Josh Pais, Marcia DeBonis, Maria Dizzia, Matthew Maher, Michael Townsend Wright, Miles Emanuel, Rob M. Anderson, Stephen Adly Guirgis

Summary: When Robert, a high school student and aspiring cartoonist, rejects the comforts of suburban life, dropping out of school and leaving home, he finds an unwilling teacher and unwitting friend in Wallace — a former low-level comic artist.

Director: Owen Kline

Genre(s): Comedy

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 86 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Vince Mancini

Sep 3, 2022

A lot of movies are funny, but very few are funny on a cellular level. Few announce themselves as something different from the very first frames. Even most good comedies are mostly built from familiar situations and people, but Funny Pages is that rare breed; bewildering and strange before its characters even begin speaking and projecting its inherent twistedness with every aspect of its construction. Read full review

Derek Smith

Aug 23, 2022

Funny Pages eschews the platitudes and carefully scripted character arcs that often cause coming-of-age tales to feel not only predictable but coated in a sheen of nostalgia. Read full review

Jordan Mintzer

May 28, 2022

A fresh and uncompromising feature debut ... Kline has a true gift for portraiture, and it’s what makes this sad and scrappy portrait of the artist as a young cartoonist feel new and yet strangely familiar. Read full review

The Observer (UK) Xan Brooks

Sep 20, 2022

Funny Pages spins a hilarious tale from the fringes of the underground comics scene, powered by a wonderfully sour performance by Daniel Zolghadri as Robert, a teenage cartoonist who strikes out on his own. Read full review

Michael Phillips

Aug 25, 2022

The movie’s a little thin; it’s also on the glib side regarding what, in the case of Wallace’s condition, qualifies as something deeper than a crummy anti-social attitude. But Kline, shooting on film in collaboration with the excellent cinematographer Sean Price Williams, explores a wide range of visual expressivity in Funny Pages. Read full review

The Playlist Charles Bramesco

May 28, 2022

A consistently funny yet narratively undercooked coming-of-age story. Read full review

Richard Brody

Aug 24, 2022

Whatever sense of obsession drives Robert’s art and whatever emotional freedom inspires Miles’s, neither is found in the cinematic aesthetic of “Funny Pages”; the movie is merely a conventional vessel for Kline’s ardent ideas, which pass through the cinema without leaving a trace. Read full review

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User Reviews

VicFerrari

Sep 23, 2022

Funny Pages mines the vein of counter culture indie comics - more the radical outrageous/offensive work of the 80s/90s than today's market, when artists were hammering home that their work was not for kids/the mainstream (dominated by juvenile material in the US). The characters in the filmFunny Pages mines the vein of counter culture indie comics - more the radical outrageous/offensive work of the 80s/90s than today's market, when artists were hammering home that their work was not for kids/the mainstream (dominated by juvenile material in the US). The characters in the film might have stepped out of Robert Crumb's Weirdo anthology or Dan Clowes' Eightball. Viewers unfamiliar with this 'scene' may struggle with the level of quirk here. It is what it is, and it does it well.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

davemelbourne58

Aug 29, 2022

Maybe I'm too old for Funny Pages. I will say the movie featured some pretty interesting & unusual characters. But it was NOT funny. Did I cringe at some of the story? Yes
Did I care about any of the characters? No. I wanted to root for the kid who was willing to skip college and followMaybe I'm too old for Funny Pages. I will say the movie featured some pretty interesting & unusual characters. But it was NOT funny. Did I cringe at some of the story? Yes
Did I care about any of the characters? No. I wanted to root for the kid who was willing to skip college and follow his dream, but he wasn't all that likeable or sympathetic. He brought on a lot of his problems upon himself. I think I'm just too old for the crude characters in Funny Pages.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Brent_Marchant

Dec 15, 2022

If ever there were a film that would leave you scratching your head in bewilderment, this is it. Writer-director Owen Kline’s debut feature is an utterly pointless, aimlessly wandering piece of cinematic crap that serves no purpose and has no redeeming artistic value (which, technically,If ever there were a film that would leave you scratching your head in bewilderment, this is it. Writer-director Owen Kline’s debut feature is an utterly pointless, aimlessly wandering piece of cinematic crap that serves no purpose and has no redeeming artistic value (which, technically, could qualify it as porn, though, in this case, without the sex). Billed as a comedy (quite a stretch if there ever were one), this coming of age story about an aspiring prodigal underground cartoonist has little to do with coming of age or cartoons. Instead, it runs through an endless list of episodic incidents involving the protagonist and an unhinged mentor, most of which veer off into a series of unrelated, disjointed tangents characterized by voluminous amounts of yelling, violence, property damage, insults and random interactions with quirky supporting players. It seems like the filmmaker is going for some sort of ultra-edgy humor and allegedly insightful sociological statements here, but the wayward route taken to attempt to achieve those supposed objectives amounts to little more than off-putting, unbridled repulsion. Indeed, how this unmitigated garbage got green-lighted is truly beyond me. What’s even more startling, though, are the accolades it has received, including nominations from the Independent Spirit Awards competition and the Cannes Film Festival, as well as a win from the National Board of Review. This is one of those movies that genuinely leaves me wondering “What were they thinking?” when it comes to those who dreamed up the idea for this mess, those who were willing to bankroll it and those who have gone on to lavish it with wholly undeserved praise. By all means, pass this one up – and give it a wide berth at that.… Expand

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