“Funny People,” only the third film directed by comedic innovator Judd Apatow, is basically about the frequent inverse relationship between success and happiness. George Simmons (Adam Sandler, “Bedtime Stories”) is a rich, well-known actor/comedian with a big house, plenty of cars and pools, who also enjoys the company of a good woman every night. The catch is, he is not married, has no real friends (just showbiz ones), he hates his “addictive” life and has just been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Now, since he has a deadline, Simmons figures it is a good time to try and start everything over, including his career.

Enter Ira Wright (Seth Rogen, “Observe and Report”), an up-and-coming standup comic who would like nothing more than to be able to compete with his moderately successful roommates (Jason Schwartzman, “The Darjeeling Limited” and Jonah Hill, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) who are also wannabes like himself. He gets his shot, however, when Simmons sees a bit of his and offers him a job writing jokes. The film follows these two as Simmons flip-flops between a friend and boss to Wright, who cannot help but feel like Simmons is willing to sacrifice anything and anyone for his own happiness.

The acting in the film, as is the case with most of Apatow’s movies, is astounding. What sets “The 40 Year Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up” and now this film apart from other comedies is the realism of the humor. Most other comedies will do ridiculous jokes and antics to get a rise from the audience, which usually works pretty well, but is never all that believable. What the actors say and do in an Apatow film, however, manages to be hilarious without going over the top. This makes the characters in his films more real and easier to connect with.

Rogen’s performance is particularly unusual for him. His past roles have happily settled somewhere between the realm of lazy know-nothing and stoner sweetheart. He branches out in this movie, becoming the emotionally confused nice guy who is seemingly allergic to vulgarity – twice in the film he deliberately replaces the verb form of the f-bomb with “bang.”

Sandler is the real showstopper though. Simmons basically is Sandler. There are bits from Simmons’ movies shown throughout the film that closely resemble some of the career choices Sandler himself has made. Apatow goes a step further by mixing in actual footage of the real Sandler doing stand-up, goofing around in NYC and making prank calls – the two were roommates in the 80s. At times, it is difficult not to wonder if we are seeing Sandler’s real pain in this eerie self portrait.

The only times Rogen and Sandler are a bit disappointing are the stand-up scenes. These scenes, which were aired during the “Inside Funny People” special on Comedy Central, were mostly unscripted and filmed in front of a live audience which sometimes can bring out the Rogen in Wright and the Sandler in Simmons. This tiny break of character is brief and is not too bothersome, though.

The supporting cast is also nothing short of spectacular. The scene where Eric Bana (“Star Trek”) explains the sport of Australian Rules Football (or “footie”) is absolutely side-splitting. In addition, a Best Cameo Award goes to both Eminem and Ray Romano, who have a brief, yet, hilarious conversation in the film.

Apatow has always strived for balance in his films. During the Comedy Central special, he admits to worrying about “how to avoid being too sentimental while also avoiding being too corny.” His dialogue mixes in a fair amount of wit with an equal amount of middle school penis jokes that he said during a “Daily Show” appearance “are endless and will always be funny.”

This is what sets Apatow apart from his unworthy adversaries made up of the rest of today’s comedy directors. He actually takes a stab at including legitimate cinematic aspects such as theme and structure, all the while, keeping the audience laughing their asses off. In some scenes the transition from a funny situation to a serious one is so sudden it is possible to feel awful for laughing in the first place. This has been true for his first two movies, but more so for “Funny People.” He wants the audience to have fun with Simmons, his illness and his struggle to regain happiness. After all, laughter is the best medicine.

4 out of 5 stars