*Disclaimer: This is a review of the film, not the novel by Ned Vizzini.*
I just...this movie confuses me. It's Kind of a Funny Story tells the story of Craig Gilman, a depressed sixteen year old. Craig decides to check himself into a psychiatric ward because he's suicidal. He realizes that he does not really want to die, but he can't help feeling that suicide is the only way to escape the immense pressure brought on by his parents, prep school, and high-achieving peers.
At the hospital, Craig learns to cope with the help of a psychiatrist and some new, relatable friends. He even meets a love interest in the form of a sweet, quirky girl named Noelle. A truly heart-warming story. He stays about a week, and then he feels ready to resume taking anti-depressants and return to home and school. Good for Craig, right?
It's a familiar story - a stressed kid struggling with depression during some of the most difficult years of a person's life. I find Craig's character to be authentic and relatable. He's confused, afraid, and initially unwilling to accept the fact that he is no better than any other individual in the psychiatric ward. As a former stressed high schooler (and a current college student in a very competitive environment), Craig makes sense to me. I hope everything worked out for him after he returned to his seemingly suffocating prep school.
However, I can't help but feel irritated by the portrayal of the other characters in the psychiatric ward. Aside from Craig's closest friends Bobby and Noelle, the other patients are largely devoid of substance. They serve as mere tropes in Craig's story. Initially, Craig is clearly put off by his fellow residents. Fortunately, he eventually realizes his ignorance and comes to accept them for who they are, but as viewers, we never discover who these people really are beyond their various disabilities.
I just...this movie confuses me. It's Kind of a Funny Story tells the story of Craig Gilman, a depressed sixteen year old. Craig decides to check himself into a psychiatric ward because he's suicidal. He realizes that he does not really want to die, but he can't help feeling that suicide is the only way to escape the immense pressure brought on by his parents, prep school, and high-achieving peers.
At the hospital, Craig learns to cope with the help of a psychiatrist and some new, relatable friends. He even meets a love interest in the form of a sweet, quirky girl named Noelle. A truly heart-warming story. He stays about a week, and then he feels ready to resume taking anti-depressants and return to home and school. Good for Craig, right?
It's a familiar story - a stressed kid struggling with depression during some of the most difficult years of a person's life. I find Craig's character to be authentic and relatable. He's confused, afraid, and initially unwilling to accept the fact that he is no better than any other individual in the psychiatric ward. As a former stressed high schooler (and a current college student in a very competitive environment), Craig makes sense to me. I hope everything worked out for him after he returned to his seemingly suffocating prep school.
However, I can't help but feel irritated by the portrayal of the other characters in the psychiatric ward. Aside from Craig's closest friends Bobby and Noelle, the other patients are largely devoid of substance. They serve as mere tropes in Craig's story. Initially, Craig is clearly put off by his fellow residents. Fortunately, he eventually realizes his ignorance and comes to accept them for who they are, but as viewers, we never discover who these people really are beyond their various disabilities.
Yes, the movie is a comedy, and the characters are designed to make people laugh. However, the only source of "humor" is in the various manifestations of disability and/or illness. There's something seriously wrong (and very un-funny) about this exploitation of struggles that are very real for an entire population of people, and truthfully, Craig's character is never fully integrated with these other individuals. The viewer always gets the sense that he is being portrayed as superior to them. In other words, the entire movie seems to be saying "Sure, Craig's got problems - he's depressed. But at least he's normal."
I see no need to further elaborate on the many issues with this type of representation - it's self-explanatory. Making a clear attempt to hold Craig in a higher regard than his fellow patients is a disservice to the entire disabled community. It somehow suggests that perhaps if you're a teenager, or if you're white, or if you're male, then your mental disability or illness is less alienating than it is for others. I'm sure those involved in this production did not intend to send such a exclusionary message, but the subtext is impossible to miss. Craig is relatable if you come from a similar background, but if you're not like Craig? If you happen to identify more with one of the other characters? This movie has the clear potential to make you feel like your identity is little more than a spectacle for obnoxious ableist audiences.
I see no need to further elaborate on the many issues with this type of representation - it's self-explanatory. Making a clear attempt to hold Craig in a higher regard than his fellow patients is a disservice to the entire disabled community. It somehow suggests that perhaps if you're a teenager, or if you're white, or if you're male, then your mental disability or illness is less alienating than it is for others. I'm sure those involved in this production did not intend to send such a exclusionary message, but the subtext is impossible to miss. Craig is relatable if you come from a similar background, but if you're not like Craig? If you happen to identify more with one of the other characters? This movie has the clear potential to make you feel like your identity is little more than a spectacle for obnoxious ableist audiences.