I saw “Funny People,” which I liked, but which suffered from some of the same problems that I feel plague Apatow’s other film projects: overkill of crude jokes (they work when they are funny, but when they are not, they make me cringe), too long and meandering near the end, and too much Jonah Hill (I cannot stand him).
I noticed that many of the reviews commented on the fact that this was Judd’s most serious and ambitious project yet. And certainly, there were some very affecting and poignant moments; the scene where Seth Rogen’s character made an iTunes playlist for Adam Sandler’s character was both funny and tugged at the heartstrings in a way unique to Apatow’s work.
However, every time an Apatow project comes along, I read the reviews and always think to myself that none of his film projects will ever measure up creatively to 1999’s much-lamented, canceled television show, “Freaks & Geeks,” an hour long comedy about kids at high school in 1980.
You know how many complain that Apatow’s films do not have very rounded female characters? “Freaks & Geeks” features one of the most sensitively drawn female characters of all time in Lindsay Weir. Lindsay is smart and kind, but with a funny edge and actively tries to figure out her place in the scheme of things. By the last episode of “Freaks & Geeks,” Lindsay makes a decision that left tears in my eyes while also understanding exactly where she was coming from. In addition, Lindsay’s friendship with Kim Kelly, who starts the series as her nemesis, is touching and realistic.
Like Apatow’s films, “Freaks & Geeks” features characters who lurk in the outskirts of what is considered normal. Amongst the “freaks,” we have James Franco’s Daniel, the Dylan McKay-esque rebel who develops a love for Dungeons & Dragons and Jason Segel’s Nick Andopolis, the too earnest drummer. (I will forevermore watch everything Jason Segel ever does, I thought he was so brilliant as this character. He should have gotten an Emmy just for the disco competition episode.) And we have “geeks” like the allergic-to-everything Bill and Sam the ventriloquist.
It is a truly wonderful show, filled with complicated moments, characters who are not cliches, and scenes of laugh-out-loud hilarity. Also, unlike his film work, the humor is not at all reliant on current pop culture references (clearly, since the series took place in 1980). This show probably encapsulates the teenage experience better than anything I’ve ever seen. While many reviewers are now saying that Apatow has not figured out how to blend the silly and the serious, I just want to shout, “But he does! He did it ten years ago in ‘Freaks & Geeks’! But no one watched it and it got cancelled!” (Okay, I didn’t watch it either, but that will not stop my righteous indignation.)
Interestingly, that which I consider to be Apatow’s best work was taken off of network TV in less than a season, while his lesser works make millions at the box office. (I do like his movies, just not as much as I like “Freaks & Geeks.”) I doubt that he will change tones too wildly in his films. Why would he? He’s one of the most successful dudes in Hollywood. But I would love to see him make a movie with more of the sensitivity and maturity he demonstrated in his television work ten years ago.
There are so many scenes I love in this show, but this is really a classic. So sweet and also sad and wordlessly encapsulates the character of Bill:
