As Randy Pausch proved when he became one of the most sought-after inspirational speakers in his final year of life, death can have a way of reminding us what really matters. As we have recently seen in the approach and wake of various celebrity deaths, death has way of bringing those relationships we shared with others during our lifetimes to the foreground. And as Funny People, the newest film by director Judd Apatow, proves, within the framework of one man's impending death lies a entire array of both serious and amusing lessons to be learned about life, death, and everything that fills the in-between.

When Funny People begins, we meet an early-nineties George Simmons (Adam Sandler) as he makes prank calls to customer service lines and fills his small, sparsely furnished apartment with laughter. In the next scene, we follow Simmons as he starts the day off in a palatial Los Angeles mansion, makes his way through a maze of fans clamoring for autographs, and arrives at his doctor's office to be told he has virtually untreatable Leukemia. Cue a phone call to Laura (Leslie Mann), the one girl he still loves and hasn't spoken to in twelve years, to tell her he's sorry. Follow it with an impromptu appearance at a local comedy club where his gloomy diatribe prompts Ira Wright (Seth Rogen), the young comedian who follows him, to liken Simmons' act to watching comedy's greatest slit their wrists on stage. Set up Rogen and Sandler as student and teacher and Sandler and Mann as semi-reunited lovers, and you're pretty much ready to go.

Running over two and half hours long and split by the revelation that Simmons seems to have been cured, Funny People is almost like two movies in one. In the first and much stronger half, its stars are Sandler and Rogen, its core is standup comedy, and its look at life and its meaning is one that comes off as both effortlessly amusing and naturally enlightening. Peppered by comedy acts and cameos by many other well-known faces in entertainment, even as it deals with Simmons' impending death and his realization that his life as he has lived it so far doesn't seem to have any meaning at all, it rarely becomes heavy-handed or overly dramatic.

The exchange which hilariously and honestly puts a dead-end life in perspective: Eminem's angry rant about how Simmons' should have just taken his out when he got it ('cause what is the life they are leading worth anyway?). The contrast which highlights the emptiness that not only fills Simmons' home, but has crept into his career as a comedian: Ira's childish excitement before a big show and Simmons' near jealousy of that combination of nerves and adrenaline that he hasn't known for years. The scene that captures the despair of waking up on day and realizing everything you have means nothing: Simmons' tearful and hopeless exclamation that for all he's paid for, none of it works. The dynamic which shows how much value even one true friendship can bring to even the most hopeless and empty of lives: a growing closeness between Simmons and Ira complete with childhood reminiscences, public displays of sadness, and hugs of celebration.

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