Funny Pages Trailer: A Dark Comedy About Drawing Comics
A24 has released the official trailer for the dark comedy "Funny Pages," the directorial debut from Owen Kline. It's the story of a young man named Robert (Daniel Zohlghadri from "Eighth Grade") who loves to draw and wants to get into comics. Of course, his parents don't approve when he says he's going to drop out of school for this. Every caregiver's dream, right? He runs into a rather socially awkward guy named Wallace (played by Matthew Maher, from "Our Flag Means Death") who worked for Image Comics at one point, and attempts to befriend Wallace for help with his art.
If Owen Kline's name sounds familiar to you, it might be because he's appeared in films like "The Squid and the Whale." It may also have something to do with his parents, who are "A Fish Called Wanda" star Kevin Kline and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" star Phoebe Cates.
"Funny Pages" premiered in the Director's Fortnight at the 75th Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.
'He failed with soul'
The trailer is quirky and weird and having spent a lot of time with comic artists, I can say it seems pretty accurate in terms of trying to break in. This looks like a fun indie film, and I would imagine that, with the popularity of comics and comic book properties these days, it's probably going to resonate with a lot of young fans. Of course, with the artists and writers who created the books we've all seen as popular films or shows being treated in a not-so-great manner, they might want to get into producing instead.
Here is the logline for "Funny Pages":
A bitingly funny coming-of-age story of a teenage cartoonist who rejects the comforts of his suburban life in a misguided quest for soul.
A24 also released a poster for the film with the tagline, "The story of New Jersey's next great comic book artist and biggest dick." From the trailer, he doesn't seem like a dick. He actually seems like a whole lot of kids I was friends with in school who wanted to do this for a living.
A24
As well as directing, Owen Kline wrote the film's script, which was produced by Josh & Benny Safdie, the filmmaking duo responsible for "Uncut Gems" with Adam Sandler. Miles Emanuel ("Calidris"), Maria Dizzia ("Martha Marcy May Marlene"), and Josh Pais ("Joker") also star alongside Daniel Zohlghadri as Robert.
"Funny Pages" will be released in select theaters and On Demand on August 26, 2022.