The trailer for It's Kind Of A Funny Story: Zach Galifianakis puts on his serious face

As part of Zach Galifianakis’ bid for Hollywood super-stardom, the comedian is required to run a certain gauntlet, including establishing that he can also do “serious.” Whether It’s Kind Of A Funny Story will eventually prove to be his The World According To Garp remains to be seen, but it should at least prove to doubters that he can do more than just play slightly neurotic slackers. He can also play clinically insane slackers, evidenced by his turn here as the wise mental patient mentor to a suicidal teen played by Keir Gilchrist. Gilchrist’s coming-of-age in the psych ward includes run-ins with other neatly compartmentalized troubled souls like Jeremy Davies and manic-depressive pixie dream girl Emma Roberts, but this preview suggests it will be totally Galifianakis’ show, and so far—despite the forced winsomeness of the premise and the goopy indie-pop soundtrack—that doesn’t seem like such a bad thing. Good for him—although if this leads him down the path to his Patch Adams, we're going to have words.