Judd Apatow gives immature people time to be funny and occasionally to understand themselves. We value his patience with actors, though his comedies too often keep talking after the scene has done its work.
Fi1m perspective
Apatow will leave the camera still and let a conversation run, giving the actors time to react as well as deliver the next joke. We like that patience, though we do not always want quite so much of it. His interest in people who cannot work out how to behave is there in Freaks and Geeks (1999), the school series created by Paul Feig. We winced at Linda Cardellini's teenage uncertainty because she makes not knowing how to behave painfully recognisable.
Apatow was a writer, executive producer and episode director, so we should resist treating the programme as his work alone. Its young cast is essential to the way it makes school life funny while allowing it to remain uncomfortable. The patient pace occasionally drags, but the performances keep earning our attention. We want to stay with these uncertain teenagers even when the storytelling could move faster. That is a useful test for his films: the extra time spent with someone has to be worth it.
His feature directing debut, The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), mixed sexual jokes with sympathy for people struggling to grow up. Knocked Up (2007) made male immaturity central again. With Adam Sandler in Funny People (2009), Apatow took a more dramatic turn towards mortality and comedy, giving his interest in flawed people a heavier subject. The later The King of Staten Island (2020) gives grief more space and puts less pressure on every moment to be funny.
The difficulty is knowing when to stop: This Is 40 (2012) gives extended character scenes more time than they earn. There is also an imbalance in Knocked Up: the men get to be immature while the women too often have to disapprove. Working with actor and writer Amy Schumer on Trainwreck (2015) usefully moves his attention to a female lead, though that change does not answer the question of when a scene should end. Start with Freaks and Geeks, and forgive the occasional slow patch.
Biography
Judd Apatow is an American director, producer, screenwriter and comedian. He was born on 6 December 1967 in Flushing, Queens, New York City.
Apatow wrote for The Simpsons and served as writer, story and director on the series Freaks and Geeks (1999). He founded Apatow Productions and directed, wrote or produced the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Knocked Up (2007), Funny People (2009), This Is 40 (2012), Trainwreck (2015) and The King of Staten Island (2020). He has also produced series including Undeclared (2001–2002), Girls (2012–2017), Love (2016–2018) and Crashing (2017–2019).
Apatow has received nominations for 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning three, as well as Writers Guild of America, Producers Guild of America, Golden Globe and Grammy Award nominations.
