Quality pieces don't add up to "Funny Story"

Advertisements for "It's Kind of a Funny Story" portray it as a thoughtful movie, with a lot of names and faces audiences will recognize, centered around a depressed teenager who checks himself into a psychiatric ward. Though on the surface, that is true, there are a lot of diversions and asides along the way. Furthermore, the star power never really pays off in a movie that, while charming, fails to totally satisfy.

The movie, based on a 2006 novel by Ned Vizzini, stars Keir Gilchrist as Craig, a high school student who is under constant pressure to get accepted into a prestigious summer prep school; so much so that he considers suicide. Terrified that he may actually do something awful to himself, Craig goes to a psychiatric hospital, and is admitted for what he discovers is a minimum of five days.

Zach Galifianakis co-stars as Bobby, a patient in the ward. He's the movie's big draw, as his face is instantly recognizable in the post-"Hangover" world.

As the quick-witted, but legitimately disturbed Bobby, he has plenty of screen time. Yet, he doesn't add much to the story, and his scenes aren't particularly memorable. As a big Galifianakis fan, I was disappointed, and I'm beginning to question if he can really carry a movie on his own.

Emma Roberts, as Noelle, another patient, is a different story. She doesn't have nearly the screen time as her co-stars, but leaves a much bigger impression as Craig's primary love interest. Her star is on the rise—which is no surprise given the fact she is Eric Roberts' daughter and Julia Roberts' niece—and this role will do nothing to slow it.

With all the talent gathered for this movie, the elements are there to make an entertaining film, but it never really gels. The biggest thing detracting from an otherwise engrossing story is the film's propensity to cut away for minutes at a time for often meaningless flashbacks and musical numbers. Instead of just explaining Craig's back story, the movie opts instead to go into a confusing segment about public schools in New York.

Also, in what I'm sure the director thought would be the signature moment of the film, the entire psych ward comes together for a fantasy music video of Queen's "Under Pressure." It adds nothing to the film, stops it dead in its tracks, and is memorable only because Keir Gilchrist bears more than a passing resemblance to Adam Lambert.

All that said, the thoughtfulness of the movie still shines through in the end. It's full of psych ward comedy clichés, and the ending will surprise no one, but "It's Kind of a Funny Story" is still a well-crafted meditation on priorities, and not letting others control your life. I left the theater feeling better about myself, which is never a bad thing, but I think other filmgoers will be able to have the same feeling when this movie ends up on their Netflix queue in a few months.