The first Apatow-like film of the year (though Judd Apatow himself wasn’t involved with the project) has arrived with John Hamburg’s I Love You, Man. The R-rated comedy, starring Paul Rudd (Role Models) and Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), plays off the recent popularity of so-called “bromance” and the results are heartfelt and often hilarious.
Peter Klaven (Rudd) is engaged to his girlfriend Zooey (a wonderful Rashida Jones, “The Office”) and lives a great life with her, but he’s never really had any close male friends. Zooey has a slew of bridesmaids planned out, and Peter can’t even think of one guy who could be his best man. He decides he needs to find some.
At first, Peter does this with little success, resulting in a string of hilariously awkward “man-dates,” but, when he meets Sydney Fife (Segel), it all changes. As Peter and Sydney spend more time together, it puts a strain on his relationship with Zooey. Peter is forced to try and find a way to live happily with both his bride-to-be and his new B.F.F.
I Love You, Man has a simple premise and is relatively weak on plot, but it makes up for it with its smart humor and good intentions. Its R-rating gives it the freedom to joke about whatever it feels like, and the movie doesn’t shy away from being crude and raunchy, at times.
Rudd gives one of the better comedic performances in recent memory. He is perfectly awkward in many scenes, and shows surprising range considering the film’s subject matter. If he was not an A-list star before, I Love You, Man is sure to put him there.
Segel is almost every bit as good as Rudd and is the source of most of the film’s humor. Though his character is one-dimensional in comparison to Peter, Segel makes Sydney both lovable and sympathetic. Rudd and Segel have perfect chemistry with each other, and the story basically serves as an excuse to watch the two of them hang out (which is not a bad thing).
Jones, who has not been in many films, is cute and refreshing as Peter’s fiancé Zooey, who at times is the third wheel of the three. She plays well off of Rudd and portrays the concerned and supportive girlfriend role with ease.
The supporting cast, consisting of Jon Favreau, J.K. Simmons, Andy Samberg and Jaime Pressly, among others, is terrific as well. Favreau is hilariously deadpan as Barry, Zooey’s friend Denise’s (Pressly) husband, who cannot stand Peter and is a generally sleazy guy. Samberg plays Peter’s brother Robbie and also provides a fair share of comedy.
I Love You, Man is great because it shows two guys who form a close-knit relationship without feelings of homophobia or any negative connotations. Instead, the film celebrates such a relationship and shows how men need close friends as much as women do.
The film does begin to run out of steam toward the end of the movie. The last 20 minutes, which are devoted to the plots resolution, don’t have the quantity of laughs that are present during the rest of the movie. The ending is relatively cheesy and predictable, but doesn’t take away from the film’s overall quality.
Though I Love You, Man is short on plot and rather formulaic at times, this is easily eclipsed by the sharp wit and comedic timing that is exhibited throughout the film.
The performances of Segel and Rudd alone make it one of the better comedies in recent memory.
