As 16-year-old Craig Gilner says as he stands on a suspension beam, contemplating jumping into the river hundreds of feet below him, "It starts on a bridge." From this hauntingly beautiful opening shot, it seems that the film version of Ned Vezzini's second novel will address the serious issue of suicide among young people, but after the initial scene, I was surprised to find that actually, It's Kind of a Funny Story.After a series of increasingly frightening dreams, Craig (Keir Gilchrist) checks himself into a psychiatric hospital, where he meets a cast of lovably zany characters. He forms meaningful connections with Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), a goofy, charismatic patient at the clinic, and Noelle (Emma Roberts), a pretty and alluring girl who is impressed by Craig's kindness and newly discovered artistic talents. Meanwhile, Craig must confront his issues with his overbearing father (Jim Gaffigan), who wants him to apply to a prestigious pre-professional summer school; his clueless mother (Lauren Graham); his child-prodigy sister; and his perfect best friend, who happens to be dating the girl of Craig's dreams.

The film did a great job capturing certain moments that often succeed in literature but fail when translated onto the big screen. By smoothly transitioning into flashbacks, dream sequences and Ferris Bueller-esque asides addressing the audience, the filmmakers, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, were able to pull the intimate qualities of reading a novel into their movie. It was these instances that set this film apart from others this season and made it fresh and entertaining to audience members of all ages. The costuming in these scenes, done by styling team Kurt and Bart, who worked on Britney Spears' concerts, was brilliant, really emphasizing the fantastical nature of the segments. The cinematography itself was gorgeous, including beautiful views of New York City and the people who live there, making this film, at the very least, visually thrilling.

Outside of these moments, on the other hand, the 90-minute feature seemed to both drag at points and move too quickly at others, a common problem with adaptations. We didn't get to know any of the characters-even the protagonist himself-as deeply as I would have liked. Gilchrist's acting was nothing spectacular, and this only enhanced the feeling of disconnect between audience and film. There was no real reason to root for his triumph over his issues, because the issues themselves were downplayed to the point of triviality. It was clear that the filmmakers had tried to highlight these emotional conflicts as something every teen could relate to, but their nonchalance had the opposite effect on me.

One major problem I had with the film was the source from which writer-directors Boden and Fleck pulled their humor: the attributes of the patients at the hospital. Hallucinations, lisps and outbursts all elicited uninhibited laughter from the audience, which made me cringe. However, as the film went on and we got to see fuller portraits of individual patients, it became apparent that their problems were exaggerated past the point of having stemmed from realistic causes. In this way, the writers were able to eventually convince me of the humor in the situation, and the fact that the film's creators were poking fun at the characters' over-the-top quirks became much easier to swallow.

Though most of the other jokes in the movie fell flat, as they were too closely connected with the serious topic of suicide and depression, there were some laugh-out-loud-funny one-liners, especially from Galifianakis' character. In fact, the comedian's performance throughout the entire film was spot-on. He was able to portray a huge range of emotions and still remain the film's most-likeable character. All of the patients and staff in the hospital were also well-cast. Appearances by Jeremy Davies (Lost), Matthew Maher (Gone Baby Gone) and Bernard White (The Matrix series) really stole the show. In addition, Roberts' portrayal of a troubled teen girl was far removed from her usual roles, and though nothing to rave about, it was quite believable.

This is one of those movies where I wish I had read the book before going to the theater so as to quench my thirst for backstory, internal dialogue and overall character depth. But I also feel that if I had read the book, I would probably be disappointed with this rendering of the story. Adapting a contemporary novel, with a few exceptions, is often a no-win situation, and although It's Kind of a Funny Story was in my opinion worth the price of admission to the theater, it is in no way going to become as beloved as its literary predecessor.