The TV Addict 

Before I get to far along, let me say that I’ve enjoyed all of the films Apatow has written and directed, and most of the films he has had a producing hand in. The thing is, while I was watching FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL this past weekend, I got the creeping feeling that maybe we’re starting to get over-exposed to his repetitive brand of humor and his shtick is going to start getting old soon.

Part of the problem is the plots, as almost without fail the majority of the movies he’s been involved with feature slacker boy-men having to grow up, stop being immature, oblivious, or stunted and learn to be sensitive, mature, men-men who have squared off against their supposed shortcomings and come out on the other side. In telling these stories, the movies all feature the same mix of crass humor and big heart, which eventually give way to a happy poignant ending and moral lessons. In theory, that’s not a bad thing, but – again – the repetition is the rub. During FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL while I was laughing, I often felt a sense of déjà vu, and it was largely because I was laughing at the same style of jokes I’d been laughing at for a while now. Yes, they are still funny, and they are still great enough to work multiple times (like any particular brand of humor) but there inevitably has to come a point where these films start risking that you might not laugh anymore at some of the jokes because you feel you’ve heard them before.

Another problem that I think is emerging is something that is ironically enough one of the strengths of Apatow productions. It’s what one might call, the Apatow comedy troupe. By that I mean the staple of actors that continue to appear in his productions. It’s not just that the repetition of seeing the same actors appear again and again. After all, DiCaprio is pretty much in every Scorcese film now. The difference is that DiCaprio isn’t doing the same thing each time they work together. That’s not the case with the Apatow troupe. The awesome Paul Rudd is the only one who at least does something different each time. Everyone else – as much as I love them and hate to rag on them – just doesn’t have much range. Just look at Jonah Hill who keeps playing the same character. Even Seth Rogen, who I consider untouchable because of his “Freaks and Geeks” days, is basically playing the same character in the same way over and over again, which might be why I can’t get myself excited over PINEAPPLE EXPRESS.

So far I’m still laughing my butt off, but creeping into my laughter is a wee bit of weariness, and sense of familiarity that if further encouraged by too many Apatow comedies like 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN, KNOCKED UP, SUPERBAD, and FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, it might just stop being funny. After all, a good thing is a good thing until you run it into the ground. I hope Apatow and his protégés can learn to avoid that fate.

What do you guys think? Am I being too hard on Apatow’s films and the one’s he produces? Is this even a problem limited to Apatow, or all modern comedians? After all, Will Ferrell keeps making sports movies and Ben Stiller keeps on playing that guy who starts out calm and then has manic, cringe-worthy outbursts.