It's Kind of a Funny Story Review

There are few things worse in this world than a whiny teenager.

(Please allow me a brief pause to sadly acknowledge the fact that I’m now old enough —and far enough removed from being an adolescent — to complain about whiny teenagers.)

That’s part of the reason I wasn’t really encouraged when the protagonist in “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” — based on the novel by Ned Vizzini — checks himself into a psychiatric ward, convinced that he wants to kill himself because…well, he’s not really sure.

I was afraid we’d be in for 100 minutes of painfully self-absorbed navel gazing because who wants to watch a kid act like his issues are the end of the world when we adults have REAL problems to deal with?

Fortunately, the writing-directing team of Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (“Half Nelson”) mostly managed to sidestep that inherent problem by presenting the story in a way that allows the main character to struggle and deal with his issues, while also letting him recognize how relatively minor they are compared to others.

They also get a major assist from an impressive, eclectic cast led by Keir Gilchrist (“United States of Tara”) as Craig. Gilchrist, who looks like Justin Long’s younger, even skinnier brother, doesn’t initially make a strong impression. Since the first thing we learn about the character is that he wants to kill himself (despite appearing to have a relatively stable and normal life, including caring and aloof parents played by Lauren Graham and Jim Gaffigan), you’d be forgiven if you peg him as a whiner.

But as Craig realizes his problems aren’t nearly as bad as those of his new roommates, Gilchrist does a good, subtle job of making the character’s improvement feel organic and earned. Just because Craig isn’t schizophrenic or suicidal doesn’t mean that his problems don’t matter. (Yes…I just went triple negative on you!)

Gilchrist is pretty good, but the star of the show is recently-minted comic superstar Zach Galifianakis as suicidal Bobby, who takes Craig under his wing. It was clear to me before watching this movie that Galifianakis could act (go watch any “Between Two Ferns” episode online), but I was still pleasantly surprised by his phenomenal performance. The guy could’ve been forgiven for going over the top (he’s playing a mental patient, after all), but Galifianakis reins himself in impressively, resulting in a more affecting performance.

I suppose the other main cog in the movie is Emma Roberts as the conveniently fetching cutter Craig becomes interested in. Julia Roberts’ niece doesn’t do groundbreaking work (we’ve seen this dark character before), but she displays a strong enough screen presence that there’s a decent chance we’ll one day not refer to her as Julia Roberts’ niece.

The rest of the cast is rounded out with impressive work from good actors like Viola Davis, Jeremy Davies (both underused), and an eye-catching turn from Zoe Kravitz (yes, THAT Kravitz) as another object of Craig’s affection.

Setting a movie in a psych ward can limit you as a filmmaker (all those white walls!) so I was happy to see Fleck and Boden find creative ways to tell their stories, including using animation and musical sequences. (Not unlike how “500 Days of Summer”) found a way to play with storytelling tools.)

“It’s Kind of a Funny Story” may not feature the year’s showiest plot, but it finds a way to deal with its grounded protagonist in a showy way — I thoroughly enjoyed the “Under Pressure” sequence, even as I recognized how cheesy it was — and it’s also one of the best movies I’ve seen this year.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story…A-