Funny Pages (2022)

Information

Siskoid
I'm not convinced Funny Pages really comes together all that well, but I do appreciate that it doesn't cheat in its portrayal of its specific subculture. A teenage cartoonist interested in underground and indie comics loses his mentor and desperately adopts another who turns out to be unhinged. The movie is filled with oddball characters and cringy moments, especially in the kid's terrible first apartment. The idea, I think, is to make his life feel like one of those biographical indies, and indeed, the incidents wouldn't feel out of place in the oeuvres of Harvey Pekar or Chester Brown. So can I resent a film that sets itself up as a coming of age story then subverts it, when it expressly states up front that it's going for a subversive vibe? I can't. But like the "subversion" actually referenced, the result is unconvincing and for its own sake. I recognize what it's trying to do, and can't figure out where it's going (a good thing), but for me, it's a case of the individual parts being stronger than the whole. 1 month ago