Director: John Hamburg
Starring: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones
In Cinemas: 23 April 2009
The bromantic comedy is nothing new. It’s been renamed and repackaged, but has been around for decades as a means for men to express the feelings they have for each other without seeming any less macho in real life. The name on everyone’s lips here is Judd Apatow; and while he didn’t invent the idea, he has experience combining heartfelt man-moments with laughter. Thankfully, he had nothing to do with I Love You, Man.
With John Hamburg’s I Love You, Man, it appears that the gist of the film is one man’s quest to find a new best friend. Paul Rudd is cast as Peter Klaven, a successful real estate agent who is soon to marry his new fiancée, Zooey (Rashida Jones). When his fiancée calls her friends to announce the engagement, Peter is disheartened to realise he has no close friends, and absolutely no candidates for a best man.
After a series of “man dates” and attempts to find the perfect match, Peter meets Sydney (Jason Segel), and the chemistry is promising. Having never had a best friend, Peter slips into the habit of including Sydney in everything, much to the detriment of his fiancé. This causes the wedding plans to short-circuit, and makes for very sweet comedy.
As a comedic actor, Paul Rudd is cunning. He underplays his boy-next-door looks to perfection and often plays characters on the verge of meltdown (Role Models). His performance in I Love You, Man sees him return to his nice guy roots with flying colours, even with a mediocre script. In the past it seems like Rudd blends in from his surroundings, imitating performances of other actors. In the past it seemed he was borrowing from Will Ferrel. In I Love You, Man, his performance is reminiscent of Steve Carell’s square, awkward style.
Jason Segel, on the other hand, portrays the stereotypical specimen of modern manhood. While it’s a bit of a shock to see Segel playing a confident character after his performance as a recently dumped dude in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, you get used to it. He’s crude, loud, rude, obnoxious and still in boyhood when closing in on his 30s. And when teamed up with Rudd, he hits the nail on the head as the laidback yin to Peter’s uptight yang.
As much as this film comes off as a romance with an emphasis of male friendships, it actually plays out more like a typical chick flick. It’s hard to say exactly where it doesn’t work, but the film never really builds momentum and is filled with too much empty space between jokes. This could have been filled with the amazing supporting cast, but perhaps the biggest disappointment is how poorly underused the supports are. J.K Simmons (Juno), could have been brilliant in his dad role, but has only a few lines.
I Love You, Man plays up the differences between men and women, without really coming up with anything poignant. However, the film does shine with genuinely funny moments, and combined with excellent acting and decent writing makes it easy to enjoy.
3.5 out of 5 stars.