I LOVE YOU, MAN (B)
This film is definitely not what I expected it to be. In good ways, and bad. I have loved Paul Rudd (Role Models) and Jason Segal (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) since the day I first saw them on the screen. But what would a review be without me talking about the starlet in the film Rashida Jones (The Office). She looked gorgeous the entire film, and had great chemistry with her onscreen fiance Paul Rudd.
This film is about a couple, Peter and Zooey, (Rudd and Jones) who have just become engaged. With the upcoming wedding, the couple realizes that Peter has no guy friends to be his best man. Peter has been a "girlfriend guy" his entire life. Never having male camaraderie, Peter sets off to make a guy friend to be his best man before the wedding. This leads the film through many funny man" dates and male encounters. The humor of watching Peter stumble around nervously in the company of men is abundant, and adds a dimension of comedy not seen before.
Peter finally has a connection with a guy he meets named Sydney (Segal). They hit it off and begin to hang out with increasing frequency. As you can imagine this leads to conflict between characters and makes the film more interesting.
This film is different from similar comedies by Rudd and Segal. It had a more subdued form of comedy, similar to that of the TV show Arrested Development (though no where near as awesome). The comedy in this film is less "ha ha" and more humorous uncomfortable situations. It definitely has the taste of director Judd Apatow (Knocked Up), but no where near the quality of comedy.
The film was written and directed by the little known John Hamburg (Along Came Polly). The script he wrote seemed at times less like a comedy and more of a drama. The characters were decently developed through the course of the film, and the people playing the characters made them even more likable.
Overall, I liked this film. It definitely was not the comedy I thought it would be. With Rudd and Segal both coming off dynamite comedies, it is easy to expect too much. The story is good and so are the characters, but the film lacks the comedy it needs to gain attention at the box office. If you are fans of either of the lead actors, see it. Otherwise, you could wait to see this one til DVD.
