Funny People.  A Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin) dramedy, I was surprised at how much I liked it given its length (almost 2 and a half hours) and a certain maxed-out sense with regard to “bro’ mances.”   But this one delivered both laughs (Adam Sandler plays a wildly successful comic, dying and friendless, who takes on Seth Rogen, a nobody comic, as a personal assistant to help him through the medical ordeal) and a bit more, reminding me of James L. Brooks, in that Apatow delivers a story that is universal while using Sandler’s job and surroundings for texture, ala’ Broadcast News.  Better, as Sandler showed in Punch Drunk Love, he can be a good actor.  Finally, there is a scene with Sandler, Rogen and Sandler’s German doctor (no physical comedy) that is a worthy entry to funniest scenes of all time.

Adventureland.  I had counted on being a worthy addition to the Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall oeuvre, which would have been fine.  But instead, the film is more Dazed and Confused meets Tadpole (with a little Say Anything thrown in) with a deliberate pace, a keen sense of time (late 80s nod to The Replacements on the soundtrack), and a sweet love story taking the place of bro-mances, snappy male rejoinders and broad physical comedy.  It’s a very leisurely picture and an especially affecting performance by Jesse Eisenberg as the college grad consigned to working his local amusement park the summer before grad school.  Downside – Kristin Stewart as the love interest.  This limited actress who made her bones in the Twilight saga is charmless.

A good old fashioned heart-tugging, crowd-pleasing weepy, and Sandra Bullock’s brassy performance is perfect for the material.  The actor who plays “Big Mike” has a devastating mixture of nobility and tenderness and there are some very funny lines (Bullock’s husband – “Who would’ve thought we’d have a black son before we met a Democrat?”).