Director Judd Apatow declares in one of the many diaries on this Blu-ray that not only is this his most personal project yet, but it may well be the most personal film he ever does. Watching it, it’s easy to see why. Not only does he direct one of his best friends – Adam Sandler, his real-life wife Leslie Mann and his own two daughters, but the film concentrates on one of his first professions – stand-up comedy.

George Simmons (Sandler) is one of those comedians who managed to work his way up through the world of stand-up to become a household name in comedy films.

A visit to his doctor reveals that he has a very rare blood disorder, and that there’s a very good chance that he doesn’t have long left for this world.

Despite his fame, he finds that he has no real friends to share this news with. Instead, he befriends young comic Ira (Seth Rogan); initially asking him to write some gags for him, then offers him the position of personal assistant/buddy.

George confides to Ira about his ill health, mostly as an act of being able to tell at least someone. Finding the experience cathartic, he then goes about telling others, most notably his ex Laura (Mann), who is now married – to Clarke (Eric Bana), with two kids.

The news opens up not only fresh dialogue between the pair, but also old feelings. George finally knows what he wants, but does mother of two Laura want the same?

It feels with Funny People that Apatow has attempted to squeeze two slightly jarring storylines into one film. The first half concentrates almost solely on the stand-up side of his life, with the other half reserved for his relationship with his ex. And running at two and half hours in length, it almost feels like watching two different films back to back.

The first half is undoubtedly the more enjoyable. It has more zip about it, particularly as we see more of Ira’s home life; his roommate Mark (Jason Schwartzman) has just got an acting job on a bland sitcom, while his other friend Leo (Jonah Hill) is also out to make a name for himself on the comedy circuit. Friction is added into the mix, when aspiring stand-up Daisy (Aubrey Plaza) catches the eye of both Ira and Mark.

Ira’s struggle with his career and personal life is a far more absorbing story compared to that of George’s. The second half focuses on his attempts to get back with his ex girlfriend; not only does it drag on far too long, it gets really uncomfortable, particularly when her children quiz Ira as to whether George is going to run away with their mommy or not.

An irony exists here insofar as that a film that deals so much about relationships, struggles with the one between its main leads. Sandler and Rogan have no on screen chemistry; the longer they share screen time together, the more superficial their relationship appears. This is mainly due to Sandler having the emotional depth of a brown paper bag, with a similar kind of acting range. Apart from an unusually heart-felt performance in Punch-Drunk Love, Sandler, much like his on-screen counterpart George, is merely a vehicle for cheap laughs. But at least you know what you’re getting.

It does feel that Apatow believed he could tap into something more from Sandler, but perhaps their long-standing friendship prevented him from getting nothing more than the standard Sandler performance.

If Apatow was purely going for one of his generic comedies (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up), then he could have probably got exactly what he needed from Sandler. But with the layers of emotion he strives for in this film, Sandler just can’t deliver. What was Apatow thinking? You would never expect a Mini to win a Formula One race, so why enter it? Perhaps he thought that he could get the same kind of heart out of Sandler that Paul Thomas Anderson did with Punch-Drunk Love. If that’s the case, he was about as wrong as a wrong thing can be.

It’s clear as day what Apatow should have done; focused on the stand-up side of things (like revisiting 1988’s Punchline) and ditched the long-winded relationship tripe featuring – whadiya know, his real-life wife, two kids and best friend. He certainly had the talent on board (Rogan, Schwartzman, Hill) to make a far better film. This trio of talent alone could have made a classic kind of Apatow flick.

And considering his past achievements – mainly being a major player in quite possibly the best US comedy of all time (The Larry Sanders Show), he should have concentrated his considerable talents on just making the best film he could have, instead of his most personal one.

There is a silver lining in all this doom and gloom. A cameo by Marshall Mathers III (His name is, his name is Slim Shady. AKA Eminem) provides the biggest laughs of the film. It’s almost worth seeing for his scene-stealing antics alone. That must have hurt Sandler something rotten. The Blu-ray also comes with an insightful documentary by Apatow that further cements what a nice guy he is.

Apatow undoubtedly has the ability and talent to helm a project that goes beyond his safety zone, but for it to work, he has to make sure that family and friends stay well alone. If he had managed to do that with this, Funny People would have been a far funnier and more poignant experience.