I Love You, Man

Copyright 2009, DreamWorks Pictures

This one's a week late, which you shouldn't take as a sign that I didn't like the new "bromantic" comedy (and I hate that word, even if it keeps getting thrown around this movie and other things in pop culture thesee days) known as I Love You, Man. I laughed quite a bit at the film, which stars Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, among many other familiar faces. It's not a life-changing film, it's not an instantly classic film like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy or The 40-Year Old Virgin, but it's very funny stuff. Compared with Rudd's last comedy, Role Models, it falters a bit, as I laughed more at the Rudd-Seann William Scott teaming, but in terms of heart and emotion, this one works out more.

The plot's relatively threadbare: Rudd plays a really nice guy who realizes, as he's preparing for his wedding to Zooey (Rashida Jones, much more charming here than she ever was on The Office), that he has no real guy friends to serve as his best man or be in his wedding party. Rudd searches for some friends, finds Jason Segel's goofy slacker, they have misadventures, and become best buddies. As with most comedies these days, the story is whether there are enough laughs or not.

There are plenty of laughs here, even though I wish one of the best gags in the movie, featuring Rudd, Jon Favreau, and some beer-chugging, hadn't been spoiled as an early red-band clip online. Whatever problems I have with this film really involve the lack of character development. Now, I know the jokes are the most important part of a movie like this, but we spend so much time finding out just how un-manly Rudd's main character is (and, admittedly, Rudd is brilliant playing the awkward nice guy) and so little time figuring out Segel. He's an investor who appears to live in a one-room shack, does no work, walks his dog, and plays video games. Sydney, his character, has enough money to spend on billboards promoting Rudd's real estate work, but he gets that money from Rudd. Who is this guy? I kept wondering that, but director/co-writer John Hamburg (as mentioned in many other reviews, Judd Apatow has no official ties with this movie, as much as it may surprise you) doesn't reveal anything important about the guy. Yes, we find out Sydney loves Rush, older women, and littering, but...I don't know, I feel like Hamburg didn't flesh out the character enough.

Overall, this is a solid entry in the Apatow-style of modern comedy, featuring strong performances from Rudd and Segel, but a bit of weakness surrounding the actual story. Movies like The 40-Year Old Virgin are classic not just for their comedy, but also for their characters. Andy Stitzer is a memorable comic character. Sydney and Peter, while very funny, are not.

Oh, separate note: I'm writing this review as I watch Stargate for the first time--the movie, not one of the TV series. No review for that one, however, as you should be able to surmise how interested I am in the film if I'm writing on the blog.