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Daron Aldridge: Josh, I have to agree for the most part about the marketing. The early commercials I saw hinted at the more somber nature of the film's "twist." Over the last month or so, virtually every commercial has been a variation of the retooled ad that featured Rogen, RZA and the Grand Theft Auto joke, the aforementioned Hans Gruber reference and the club scene. I was more interested in the first movie they were trying to sell me because it appeared to have more of the Apatow heart we expect. The reality of Rogen not being a bankable star has to be setting in for Sony and their Green Hornet. They'd better hope the appeal of a 60-year-old crime fighter is greater than that of Rogen.

Max Braden: I only see this film's performance as a comment on its tone. The next high concept movie Sandler does should have little problem being a blockbuster. I agree that Rogen may never be able to have the drawing power of Sandler, but I think he could still deliver movies as the lead with the right projects. I don't think audiences are going to hold Funny People against any of the actors.

Sean Collier: I disagree with Daron; selling a somber film was a mistake from the beginning. Sandler has never opened serious films well (in spite of their quality, which is usually high,) and Rogen wouldn't look right in a drama - at least not yet. Both Rogen and Sandler's highest performing films have been their pure comedies - this should've been sold as such. Furthermore, I think that Leslie Mann - while talented - didn't do the film any favors, as her presence really made Funny People look like Knocked Up 2.

Kevin Chen: So you're saying that the producers should have doctored the ads to make Funny People look like a wacky comedy except that Leslie Mann's presence made it look like a sequel to a successful wacky comedy?

David Mumpower: If anything, Kevin's point about what Sean just said goes a long way in demonstrating what a difficult marketing job this proved to be for the studio. They thought they had a Sandler/Apatow comedy and instead they got the ironically titled Funny People.

Kim Hollis: Maybe the title was the problem, actually. It does put a certain level of expectation on the film that seem impossible to live up to. For me, it feels like kind of a kindred spirit with Freaks and Geeks. That show was not a comedy, but had a lot of funny stuff. I think Apatow was trying to do something similar here, and audiences responded sort of similarly.

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