I Love You, Man (C or 2/4 stars)
Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) goes on a series of "man-dates" to find a Best Man for his upcoming wedding in 'I Love You, Man', directed by John Hamburg. Peter, a real estate agent, is one of those guys, not unlike like myself, who seems to naturally form more friendships with women than men. So when his fiancee, Zooey (Rashida Jones), asks who will be his Best Man, he can't quite come up with an answer. Who is he closest with? Well, there's dad (J.K. Simmons), his gay brother (Andy Samberg), a few guys at his fencing club, & a rival co-worker. And so, Peter attempts to find his Best Man by going on non-romantic excursions with random men -- weird. Of course, most of them don't work. One misreads Peter & starts to make-out with him at the end of the night.
But just when he's about to throw in the towel, Peter comes across a funny, free spirited, people watcher named Sydney Fife (Jason Segel, of Forgetting Sarah Marshall). The 2 men hit it off right away. Bingo, he thinks he's found his BFF. Sydney takes Peter back to his 'man cave' (a thoroughly masculine place to chill - his shed). There, they shoot the breeze, & realize that they share an affection for the band, 'Rush'. Zooey is initially ecstatic that her man has found Sydney. But after attending a concert with them, & witnessing their very bromantic chemistry ... she starts to worry that she'll become 2nd fiddle. The impending wedding seems to be on shaky ground. And Peter is left to try & make sense of what he's doing, & where his priorities lie. Can he juggle the two of them equally?
It's been a while since I've had such an affection & loathing for the very same film as I have with 'I Love You, Man'. I can list everything I loved & hated. Loved - Jason Segel. He's hysterical. I love the ease he has in front of the camera. And his opinions on nearly every subject that comes up in the film are both astute & humorous. I really liked Zooey's female friends (Jaime Pressly & Sarah Burns). And Pressly's husband, played by the funny Jon Favreau, is also excellent; loved a vomit scene including him. I also loved Sydney's 'man cave'. And there's a scene where Peter is trying on his tuxedo that had me in stitches. Peter is the kind of socially awkward guy who wants to say all the current hip jargon but fails MISERABLY (again, something I can sometimes relate to, haha). Male social performance anxiety is something that isn't touched upon much in film. And watching Peter try to be cool throughout is as painful as it is funny.
Now, here's what I hated - nothing made me laugh in the 1st half hour. I wasn't wild about J.K. Simmons as Peter's father. Andy Samberg is the most ungay gay character I've ever seen on film and, I hated his repartee with Simmons. I did not care for Rashida Jones. She did nothing to endear me to Zooey. I despised the rampant use of foul language; it's used here merely to have license to say the word 'F-ck' about 100 times. 'F-ck' ... (when not used either in anger, or to advance a humorous situation) is pointless, irritating, & took me out of nearly every scene of the movie. Why be vile for vile's sake? And lastly, this is the 1st time ever that I've not completely loved Paul Rudd in a role. I love him in supporting turns (in his loveable, dweeby sort of way). But as the star, his brand of comedic timing didn't always fit. The film has bursts of great humor sprinkled throughout, but is formulaic in structure; & provides little insight into male bonding. It's not a bad movie, but I'd be hard-pressed to sit down and watch it again anytime soon.
But just when he's about to throw in the towel, Peter comes across a funny, free spirited, people watcher named Sydney Fife (Jason Segel, of Forgetting Sarah Marshall). The 2 men hit it off right away. Bingo, he thinks he's found his BFF. Sydney takes Peter back to his 'man cave' (a thoroughly masculine place to chill - his shed). There, they shoot the breeze, & realize that they share an affection for the band, 'Rush'. Zooey is initially ecstatic that her man has found Sydney. But after attending a concert with them, & witnessing their very bromantic chemistry ... she starts to worry that she'll become 2nd fiddle. The impending wedding seems to be on shaky ground. And Peter is left to try & make sense of what he's doing, & where his priorities lie. Can he juggle the two of them equally?
It's been a while since I've had such an affection & loathing for the very same film as I have with 'I Love You, Man'. I can list everything I loved & hated. Loved - Jason Segel. He's hysterical. I love the ease he has in front of the camera. And his opinions on nearly every subject that comes up in the film are both astute & humorous. I really liked Zooey's female friends (Jaime Pressly & Sarah Burns). And Pressly's husband, played by the funny Jon Favreau, is also excellent; loved a vomit scene including him. I also loved Sydney's 'man cave'. And there's a scene where Peter is trying on his tuxedo that had me in stitches. Peter is the kind of socially awkward guy who wants to say all the current hip jargon but fails MISERABLY (again, something I can sometimes relate to, haha). Male social performance anxiety is something that isn't touched upon much in film. And watching Peter try to be cool throughout is as painful as it is funny.
Now, here's what I hated - nothing made me laugh in the 1st half hour. I wasn't wild about J.K. Simmons as Peter's father. Andy Samberg is the most ungay gay character I've ever seen on film and, I hated his repartee with Simmons. I did not care for Rashida Jones. She did nothing to endear me to Zooey. I despised the rampant use of foul language; it's used here merely to have license to say the word 'F-ck' about 100 times. 'F-ck' ... (when not used either in anger, or to advance a humorous situation) is pointless, irritating, & took me out of nearly every scene of the movie. Why be vile for vile's sake? And lastly, this is the 1st time ever that I've not completely loved Paul Rudd in a role. I love him in supporting turns (in his loveable, dweeby sort of way). But as the star, his brand of comedic timing didn't always fit. The film has bursts of great humor sprinkled throughout, but is formulaic in structure; & provides little insight into male bonding. It's not a bad movie, but I'd be hard-pressed to sit down and watch it again anytime soon.