It’s All in the Mind

If you’ve read any reviews for “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” you might’ve caught onto the connection everyone keeps making between it and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” The kinship they share is deeper than it seems, though – sure, they each deal with life in a mental institution, but they also revolve around similar characters, right down to the free spirit who comes along to shake things up. Where “One Flew” had Jack Nicholson’s R.P. McMurphy to give the establishment a run for its money, this has Zach Galifianakis in it to play Bobby, who’s less of a challenge but every bit as colorful. Although both characters come out of nowhere, they change the lives of others right from the get-go.

What makes them different is the way each film handles them – while McMurphy seems to go out of his way to be the center of attention, Bobby’s the type who’d rather be on the sidelines. He’s a cheerleader for the film’s hero, Craig (Keir Gilchrist), a suicidal teenager he takes under his wing. Craig’s troubles with college applications and unrequited love are minor, though, and they look even smaller once he discovers what he’s gotten himself into by checking in at a nuthouse near his New York home. When one of the doctors (Viola Davis) tells him they have to keep him for at least five days, he begins to wonder if he’d have been better off sticking with the Zoloft.

Except for a pretty teenager with self-inflicted wounds named Noelle (Emma Roberts), most of the patients have a way of putting Craig on edge, something that makes Bobby all the more relatable.

It’s easy to see why Craig opens up like he does, but when it’s time for Bobby to talk about himself, he insists that what happened in his past should stay there. All Craig has to go on is empirical evidence, and based on the sad conversations Bobby has with loved ones when they visit, there’s a sense that he shoulders more weight than he lets on.

While the whole film is supposed to be about Craig, Bobby winds up hijacking it with that big heart of his, and the presence Galifianakis has makes him that much easier to love. Still, it manages to focus on Craig well enough to find out what’s going on in his head, and is aware of how his stay at the psych ward changes him. He never gets around to throwing a fountain through a window, but whatever.

This article originally appeared on AllMediaNy.com