Line #48 Creator/JuddApatow


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/judd_apatow_2007.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJv-rG_jeGY An optimistic anthem for the normal schlub.]]]]
3
4	[floatboxright: Genres:
5	+ {{Farce}}, RomanticComedy, SexComedy,
6	]
7
8	->''"I always felt as a kid that I was underappreciated, invisible or weird, but I've always secretly thought people would one day appreciate what is different about me. I'm always putting that message out there."''
9
10	Judd Mann Apatow (born December 6, 1967 in Flushing, New York) is an American comedian turned TV writer turned screenwriter turned producer turned director turned "mayor of comedy."
11
12	Prior to his film and television career, Apatow did stand-up comedy and worked as a joke writer for performers including Creator/JeffDunham, who claims he paid Apatow "a measly $50 apiece" for his work. He was responsible for shows like ''Series/{{Undeclared}}'' and ''Series/FreaksAndGeeks'', as well as a notorious FlameWar with former friend and fellow ''Series/TheBenStillerShow'' alumnus Mark Brazill (creator of ''Series/That70sShow''). His career really exploded, however, after the runaway success of ''Film/TheFortyYearOldVirgin'', to the point where it's hard to find a mainstream comedy from the next ten years that isn't in some way associated with him or influenced by his brand of comedy. As Creator/JohnHughes was to TheEighties, Apatow is to the second half of the TurnOfTheMillennium.
13
14	Apatow is inordinately fond of {{improv}} (full scenes are often entirely improvised by the cast), [[ClusterFBomb profanity]], [[StonerFlick stoner humor]], sex jokes, and gratuitous nudity ([[MaleFrontalNudity male nudity]], more often than not). His characters are usually average Joes who learn to connect with either women or their male buddies, leading some people to call these films [[RomanticComedy romantic comedies]] for men -- "bromances," if you will. He has occasionally been accused of sexism, towards both women (as shown by Creator/KatherineHeigl's complaints regarding the portrayal of her character in ''Film/KnockedUp'') and men. Often for the same film.
15
16	[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJv-rG_jeGY This video]] parodies the tropes employed by Apatow's films. Genres: RomanticComedy, SexComedy, {{Dramedy}}, BromanticComedy.
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18	He is married to actress Creator/LeslieMann. Both of their children, [[Creator/MaudeApatow Maude]] and Iris, are actresses (they've been in his films multiple times).
19	----
20	!!Directed and Written:
21	* ''Film/TheFortyYearOldVirgin''
22	* ''Film/KnockedUp''
23	* ''Film/FunnyPeople''
24	* ''Film/ThisIs40''
25	* ''Film/TheKingOfStatenIsland''
26	* ''Film/TheBubble2022''
27
28	!!Directed and produced Only
29	* ''Film/{{Trainwreck}}''
30
31	!!Produced/Co-Produced Only:
32	* ''Film/TheCableGuy''
33	* ''Film/AnchormanTheLegendOfRonBurgundy''
34	* ''Film/TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby''
35	* ''Film/{{Superbad}}''
36	* ''Film/WalkHardTheDeweyCoxStory''
37	* ''Film/DrillbitTaylor''
38	* ''Film/ForgettingSarahMarshall''
39	* ''Film/StepBrothers''
40	* ''Film/PineappleExpress''
41	* ''Film/YearOne''
42	* ''Film/GetHimToTheGreek''
43	* ''Film/{{Bridesmaids}}''
44	* ''Film/TheFiveYearEngagement''
45	* ''Film/Anchorman2TheLegendContinues''
46	* ''Film/BeginAgain''
47	* ''Film/PopstarNeverStopNeverStopping''
48
49	!!Wrote/Co-wrote:
50	* ''Film/{{Heavyweights}}''
51	* ''Film/CelticPride'' (shares story credit with Colin Quinn)
52	* ''Film/FunWithDickAndJane''
53	* ''Film/YouDontMessWithTheZohan''
54	* ''Film/WalkHardTheDeweyCoxStory''
55	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS26E11BartsNewFriend Bart's New Friend]]" (an AscendedFanFic)
56
57	!!TV Series
58	* ''Series/FreaksAndGeeks''
59	* ''Series/{{Undeclared}}''
60	* ''Series/{{Girls}}''
61	* ''Series/{{Love\|2016}}''
62
63	!!Acting Credits:
64	* ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'' (in "LA Jay") as Jay Leno (uncredited)
65	* ''Film/{{Zookeeper\|2011}}'' as Barry the Elephant
66	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' as [[TheCameo himself]]
67	* ''Film/SandyWexler'' as Testimonial
68
69	He [[ProductionPosse tends to work with many of the same actors]] many of whom starred in his earlier shows, a who's who of comedy that includes:
70	* Creator/JasonSegel
71	* Creator/JamesFranco
72	* Creator/PaulRudd
73	* Creator/SethRogen
74	* Creator/JonahHill
75	* Creator/JaneLynch
76	* Martin Starr
77	* Creator/BillHader
78	* Creator/SteveCarell
79	* Creator/LeslieMann (his wife)
80	* Loudon Wainwright III
81	* Creator/JayBaruchel
82	* Creator/JohnCReilly
83	* Creator/AdamSandler (wrote some of his most popular ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' skits and produced some of his comedy albums)
84	* Creator/JimCarrey (when both worked in stand-up, Apatow wrote some of his material and served as his opening act for a while. He produced the cable special ''Jim Carrey's Unnatural Act'', revised ''The Cable Guy'' and ''Liar Liar'', co-wrote ''Fun with Dick and Jane'', AND filmed the audition tape that won Carrey the role of Andy Kaufman in ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'')
85
86	----
87	!! Tropes Associated With Apatow's Films
88	* GreyAndGrayMorality: Nobody in his films is a saint, but none of them is a monster either.
89	* GrowingUpSucks: His [=TV=] shows in particular often feature immature people in more mature situations and how they change him. Most of his movies are basically {{coming of age stor\|y}}ies for immature adults.
90	* {{Improv}}: His bread and butter. All of his movies are either mostly or entirely retroscripted. For some projects, he'll even feed actors lines off the top of his head just before they do a take.
91	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Most of the characters in his movies are selfish and/or immature, but none are ever deliberately cruel and eventually let their more positive qualities show. ''Series/{{Girls}}'' is a prime example: ''everyone'' in that show is a jerk, but are still depicted as ultimately loving and kind.
92	* {{Manchild}}: Virtually all of his male characters.
93	* SignatureStyle: Stories about {{unsympathetic comedy protagonist}}s with boatloads of VulgarHumor and pop culture references, nearly all of which is {{improv}}ised, which ultimately show them maturing into wiser, more sympathetic people.
94	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Somewhere in the middle. The characters are usually {{unsympathetic comedy protagonist}}s and most of the humor comes from how incompetent or even mean they can be, but their kinder side always comes through and stories always have a happy ending.
95	* UrExample: His comedy movies were the first of their kind to rely on eschewing traditional scripts in favor of filming lots and lots of improv, then cutting together all the best takes like a "line-o-rama" reel.

Context Creator / JuddApatow