A few nights ago, I caught comedian Sean Mauss at the Acme Comedy Club in Minneapolis. As with most comedians, he was profane, crude and sarcastic. Throughout his act, there was an underlying current of self-deprecation and self-destructive behavior that manifest itself in jokes about being an alcoholic and came to a particularly transparent climax in a joke that ended with, “I’m dying on the inside.” Of course, the comment was swathed in sarcasm, and the audience ate it up as they laughed and applauded, but the sadness and hopelessness was undeniable.

Sandler and RoganThis type of sadness is the foundation for Funny People, a comedy with moments of drama (is it okay to use the word “dramedy?”), directed by the behind-the-scenes king of comedy, Judd Apatow, whose works, despite their rough language and lurid subject matter, always seem to have a softer, more human side lurking beneath the fart jokes.