Director: John Hamburg
Starring: Paul Rudd, Jason Segal & Rashida Jones
A funny and charming comedy about male bonding that, whilst playing it safe in terms of story and jokes, still entertains because of the likeability of its two stars Rudd and Segal.
Following a string of recent comedies dealing with male friendship and bonding, dubbed ‘bromance’, such as Superbad and Role Models comes I Love You, Man starring Judd Apatow production regulars Paul Rudd and Jason Segal. While the most direct, and mainstream, attempt to address the male friendship dynamic in recent years, I Love You, Man finds plenty of insights and humor to make the film enjoyable to male audiences.
Beginning with Peter Klaven (Rudd) proposing to his girlfriend Zooey (Jones), Zooey soon becomes concerned that, once the announcement is made and wedding goes into planning, that Peter has never had many male friends and no best friend with which to call a best man at the wedding. With the support of Zooey, his brother (Andy Samburg) and his parents (the enjoyable Jane Curtin and J.K. Simmons), Peter attempts to find himself a male friend whom he can call his best man involving a string of ‘man dates’ that fail in several, amusing, ways including the inevitable misinterpretation that the ‘man date’ is a sexual advance with one potential friend. Whilst running an open house in his day job as a real estate agent, Peter encounters Sydney (Segal), a likeable slacker looking to use open house days as a way to meet women. Hitting it off, Peter and Sydney meet up again and a friendship forms that whilst opening up the option to be honest to a male friend about his life also threatens to put a wedge between Peter and his fiancé Zooey.
Whilst generally playing it safe with its dialogue and situations and rarely attempting to approach the more risqué humor of a Judd Apatow production, I Love You, Man certainly manages to be consistently witty and charming thanks not only to its cast but also to the improvisational approach to the dialogue, particularly between Rudd and Segal, that leads to a lot of surprising humor that is frequently sharp and occasionally deliberately cringe-worthy such as Peter’s frequent attempts to sound cool in front of Sydney which often leaves him babbling nonsense. There are also plenty of effective scenes in which Peter recognizes the value of having a male friend, of realizing that there are things you never discuss with female friends or partners even if you always thought you were honest and also in being able to enjoy and share more male-orientated interests such as, in Peter’s case, playing guitar with Sydney but in also allowing yourself to embrace your more aggressive instincts which Peter avoids to the detriment of his career ambitions. The plot of I Love You, Man may take predictable turns with Peter and Sydney’s friendship affecting Peter’s relationship with his fiancé and also his career leading to break ups, arguments and the inevitable reconciliations and upbeat ending but the journey is nevertheless an enjoyable one.
A large part of what makes I Love You, Man enjoyable is its cast. With Paul Rudd and Jason Segal both recently progressing from a string of entertaining supporting roles in comedy films to lead status, Segal in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Rudd with Role Models, both are more than able to carry a film themselves and together they work very well with a natural chemistry on screen developed from working on several films together in the past. Rudd keeps Peter frequently witty but is also believably, and enjoyably, awkward and embarrassing when placed in uncomfortable situations. Peter’s failed attempts to sound cool when talking to Sydney in earlier scenes and a post-poker game drinking contest with Jon Favreau, playing the husband to one of Zooey’s friends, are highlights. Segal meanwhile makes Sydney completely loveable despite his character’s lack of ambitions later demonstrating his character’s loneliness as he’s sees his friends all moving ahead with their lives. Sydney’s embracing of his male instincts also leads to some entertaining physical confrontations particularly one with actor Lou Ferrigno (playing himself). Rashida Jones is very likeable as Rudd’s fiancé Zooey and Jane Curtin, J.K. Simmons and Andy Samburg are all entertaining in smaller roles as Peter’s family.
Overall, I Love You, Man is a very enjoyable film. There is plenty of appeal for male and female audiences but should be particularly enjoyable for the male audiences. The fairly safe nature of the plot and humor might not give the film the re-watch ability value of braver comedies but the Rudd and Segal make for an enjoyable pair and I Love You, Man should not fail to entertain.
Rating: 4/5
