'It's Kind of a Funny Story' Blu Ray Review

"It's Kind of a Funny Story" is one of the more underrated movies from 2010 which never got much of a release and didn't last long in theatres. This is regardless of it starring Zach Galifianakis, now a big comedy star thanks to "The Hangover," "Dinner For Schmucks," and "Due Date." Also starring is Keir Gilchrist as Craig, a teenager suffering from depression who checks into a psychiatric ward in hope of ridding himself of his suicidal tendencies. It reminded me a bit of "Girl, Interrupted," but it's done with a slightly (and I strongly stress that word) lighter touch. With its recent release on Blu Ray, hopefully this film will get the audience it deserves.

The movie is packaged on Blu Ray the same way it was released theatrically. Nothing has changed about the poster which has the three main characters (Emma Roberts also stars), and the only change is an added quote on the cover from Peter Travers of Rolling Stone Magazine that says Zach Galifianakis is a "comic force of nature." Now granted, Zach does have funny moments here, but this film represents something different for him in that it's a little more serious and shows a wider range of acting than he has previously demonstrated. I hope people know this before renting "It's Kind of a Funny Story" because it is nothing like "The Hangover."

This was an independently made movie, and the kind with a small budget that doesn't scream out for us to watch it on Blu Ray. Visually, there's no brilliant cinematography on display, but it doesn't really need it either. With the way it captures the sterile environment of a hospital-like setting, "It's Kind of a Funny Story" seems better suited to DVD than Blu Ray. Blu Ray threatens to make it look like a cheesy soap opera more than anything else, but the video on the disc is very good and thankfully doesn't take away from its emotional themes. It doesn't look as much like an independent movie when one sees it in high definition, but the results are still commendable especially in the way the actor's faces and expressions are vividly captured.

The Blu Ray's audio quality is very well done in a way I didn't expect. With indies like these, I'm just happy to hear anything coming out of my television set even if its lacking in certain areas. But the sound here is great in how it adds to the community life of the hospital, especially in the group therapy sessions. Also, Blu Ray makes the film's score by Broken Social Scene sound absolutely fantastic. In addition, many songs featured on the soundtrack sound very invigorating, and that ends up giving certain scenes more emotional heft.

As for the special features included on the Blu Ray disc, there are only a few which hopefully appeal to the movie's biggest fans, but will probably disappoint everyone else. Frustratingly, there is no audio commentary which would have been great as I wanted to hear more about what went on behind the scenes. Instead, we have some featurettes that are far shorter than they need to be.

"A Look Inside 'It's Kind of a Funny Story'" is only a mere three minutes with the cast and crew talking about their characters and so on. It is nowhere as in depth as it could needs to be or could have been. There are five deleted scenes which last a total of 9 minutes, and they are all worth checking out, and the one between Craig and his father could have been kept in the final cut in my opinion. There's also eleven minutes worth of outtakes which I always get a kick out of. Watching the goofs is fun, and it makes their experience making the movie look like so much fun. Finally, there is some footage of the film's premiere in premiere in New York City, but that barely clocks at 3 minutes and doesn't serve much purpose for inclusion onto this Blu Ray disc.

"It's Kind of a Funny Story" truly was one of 2010's more underrated offerings, and it really is worth renting. I don't think it qualifies as a must buy, and like many other movies, it will probably have another Blu Ray version of it released further down the line with even more extras than before. But yeah, check it out on Blu Ray when you have a chance. It was a much better movie than its trailer (which was not included on this release) seemed to indicate.