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chapter11 [ 7.5 ]
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No huge complaints here, other than "I Love You, Man" doesn't boast the insidious hilarity of many of the Apatowverse's products (this isn't an Apatow-related picture, but one of many orbitting satellites that shares his eye for comic casting and boasts his improvisational, profane influence), but as a - God, I don't want to say it - bromance, it works. The clever upending of romantic comedy cliches to apply to the thinly-disguised romance that is close friendship is the attraction here: we're treated to the meet cute, the falling-hard montages, the requisite third-act conflict, and, of course, the 11th-hour make-up. (Here, we have a friend racing to the altar, in this incarnation to be his pal's best man.)
It's funny, but not screamingly funny. Jason Segel comes closest, in a welcome change from put-upon schlub to total hair-down free bird, and Paul Rudd isn't far behind him, many of his awkward moments ringing stingingly true. Rashida Jones, meanwhile, proves why she earns those crushes she inspires in droves - she's gorgeous and very good in a stock role. But as I sat there in the theater, watching these two friends dissolve into blithering retarded air-rockers in the presence of a Rush live performance, I thought about my own best friend, and how we routinely let loose around each other, and how Rudd and Segel's ridiculous air-banding is exactly what we would be doing if we put Rush on the juke in our local dive bar, nevermind a performance. And I thought about how smart the picture is in accurately illustrating the many parallels of a super-tight friendship to a long-term relationship.
And my best friend and I walked out of the theater, animatedly comparing the two main characters to ourselves (it's actually a rather uncanny comparison), as my fiancee stood by politely nodding at our assertions. Sometimes I love the movies.
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suminjoo [ 8.0 ]
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I asked my hubby to watch this film b/c I liked Jason Segal from "forgetting sarah marshall." Sure enough, he did a great job in this movie as well. I think this kind of comedy movies should prevail (not too much but funny enough without any gross and/or exaggerating scenes)over those like Tropic Thunder.
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astrosheil [ 7.0 ]
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Paul Rudd is perfect as a very nice man who becomes engaged to a very nice woman. But he has no friends, is pretty up tight and needs to learn to have fun. He doesn't have one friend to ask to be his best man. And then enters Jason Segel. Very funny movie..
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DokBrowne [ 7.5 ]
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Flaws: shaky directing, the editing doesn't gel particularly well, some jokes pander a little too heavily, and the script ultimately remains more in the sitcom camp despite several, often fruitful attempts at maturity, nuance, and realism. I don't think Sydney Fife, the zany Jason Segel character who pushes the plot forward, is sufficiently defined. Segel is a special comic actor, and soars in the movie even if he does seem more fitted to awkward dorks ("Freaks & Geeks", "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", "How I Met Your Mother"), but outside of a few balancing touches, Sydney comes off as a specific movie-land creation, the larger-than-life outsider who goes by his own observant rules. But at least he tries to bring his own more intricate sensibilities to it.
Virtues: Segel of course, a who's who ensemble of idiosyncratic comedians (we got reps from "SNL", "The State"/"Stella", Judd Apatow, Broken Lizard, "The Office", "My Name is Earl", and some underrated freelance talent (J.K. Simmons, Rob Huebel, Jon Favreau), not to mention the prerequisite random self-parodying washed-up '70s/'80s star (Lou Ferrigno)), the great Paul Rudd (bridging Stella and Apatow), who masters, or perhaps pioneers for future generation models, a fearless dive into shameless awkwardness. He was already golden before as a a formidable bringer of sarcasm ("Clueless", "Role Models"), idiocy ("Forgetting Sarah Marshall", "Wet Hot American Summer"), and peerless deadpan improv whiz ("Anchorman", "Knocked Up", "40-Year-Old Virgin"), but I think he could legitimately pursue yet another typecast segue as the earnest yet socially inept lame-o. The best laughs in "I Love You Man" come from his excruciatingly uncomfortable yet all-too-recognizable and completely adorable attempts to fit in by saying something cool, and failing spectacularly. An extended scene of him repeating the phrase "slapping da bass" in different accents is one of the funniest things I've seen in a movie in a long time. The fact that it's horrifyingly embarassing makes it even more hilarious.
As a "bro-mance", the movie is sweet, if a tad underdeveloped. It's fun and easy to watch, with a profane streak that we can blessedly rely on on from comedies these days (at least those starring these folk), some observant and subtle moments to levy the broad high concept obviousness of it all, and one of the best casts you could ask for. I wonder if someone else could have put together a better product than John Hamburg, he of the winning yet similarly off-key "Meet the Parents" and similarly intelligent yet condescending "Along Came Polly" (also, suspiciously, about a relationship between a fumbly straight-laced nice guy and a philosophical free spirit), but even if it isn't a classic, at least we got another funny movie from Segel and Rudd. If they're not cemented in history as funnyman legends of their generation, there is no justice.
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jeff_v [ 6.0 ]
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A '6.0' is probably too generous for what is an average movie. In fact, this is maybe beyond average --it would be more accurate to say this is your typical movie. You want to know what a mainstream comedy is like in 2009? Watch [i]I Love You, Man[i]. Or don't.
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| Weighted Rating | : 6.8 |
| No. Ratings | : 7 | |
| No. Reviews | : 5 | |
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