REVIEW: ‘Funny Pages’ is the Right Kind of Uncomfortable

Funny Pages is a simple film. It’s a capsule of minimalist filmmaking that puts writing first. In Funny Pages, Robert (Daniel Zolghadri) is a high school student and aspiring cartoonist who just wants to make a life doing what he loves. But when rejects the comforts of suburban life, dropping out of school and leaving home, after an extremely weird tragedy after an extremely uncalled for situation where Robert’s art teacher, Mr. Katano (Stephen Adly Guirgis),  takes advantage of his admiration to push him into drawing from a nude model…and it’s Mr. Katano. After a rough first 10 minutes Robert still just wants to catch his dream, even more so now when he’s confronted with the fragility of life, despite the boundaries crossed that put him at the center of it. Aimless, he finds an unwilling teacher and unwitting friend in Wallace, a former “color assistant” some of Robert’s favorites, who he hopes will take him where he needs to go.

Now, Robert isn’t illustrating anything wholesome or breathtaking. Instead, he draws crude caricatures of people often in depictions of more mature acts that the boy is aware of. While this opened the door for his art teacher to take advantage of him in a so-called attempt to push him out of his comfort zone, Robert’s life stumbles into a low-life future that some how works effortlessly to both showcase the naivete of his age, and his maturity.

For the “mentorship” relationship we see between Wallace and Robert, it’s strained to say the least. While Robert is completely focused on honoring the color assistant who worked on work he appreciates, Wallace is more focused on showcasing how the funny pages kill your soul. With no creative control or input on the books he worked on, their back and forths are all about shattering hope and less about growing. But then again, realizing how awful an industry is, is an important part of growth right?

In fact, the seminal moment at Robert’s parent’s house where Wallace, the pretty much criminal and entirely done with the entire situation character is the voice of reason. Wallace pushes Robert into a corner to make him realize that art and the soul aren’t all they seem to be from a kid’s eyes. Granted Robert’s constant obsession with his local comic shop makes this hard to clear up.

Clearly, Robert is inspired by the work of Robert Crumb with his crude illustrations and narcissism, and so is Funny Pages’ painfully twisted humor that aims to push the audience into cringe situations. In fact, the dark humor stacks up situationally to make you let out a sigh of exhaustion as well as a chuckle. While much of the film is done purely for shock, somehow Kline manages to pull off a narrative that isn’t going to have wide appeal (I mean it’s barely my cup of tea) but for those looking to have your life rocked by uncomfortable situations that build up through a focus on making the banal substantial, then Funny Pages is for you.