I Love You, Man: Movie Review

I Love You, Man: Movie Review

Rating: 7/10
Cast: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Jaime Pressly, The Guy who was the Hulk!
Director: John Hamburg
Ah, the bromance.
Bret and Jemaine have it, Laurel and Hardy had it - and now to the list of dynamic duos, you can add Paul Rudd and Jason Segel.
Rudd stars as Peter Klaven, a real estate agent, who having proposed to his girlfriend Zooey (Rashida Jones) suddenly realizes one day that he may have a gaping hole for who to select for best man.
For Klaven is a man who has no best buddies - so in a moment of inspired insanity, he sets out to be set up on a series of man-dates - to fill the emptiness in his heart (and at the altar).
Cue plenty of awkward (and downright amusing) moments as he tries to find Mr Right.
Until one day he meets Sydney Fife (Segel) at an open home - and the pair strike up a friendship - could Fife (deep breath) be the one?
And if he is, what does it mean for Peter's marriage to Zooey&.?
I Love You, Man is a riot - and it's down to Paul Rudd and Jason Segel's easy on-screen chemistry - the pair are perfect and the whole story subverts the usual "Do I call her", "What if she doesn't want to hang out" dynamic of romance flicks.
There are some real laugh out loud moments - mainly due to Rudd's increasing awkwardness (think David Brent from The Office on a larger scale) and attempts to try and be cool around his new BFF.
From a male point of view, it perfectly channels the feelings guys sometimes have as their circle of friends dwindle - and c'mon, how many of you have tried to go for after work drinks/ after gym drinks with people who wouldn't normally be more than casual acquaintances?
It's quite a sweet film - there's the romance of Peter and Zooey and also Sydney and Peter as they negotiate their own hang ups and become good friends.
There's also some great moments from Jon Favreau as one of Zooey's best friend's husband who's compelled to welcome Peter into his circle of man-friends.
In just a few scenes, Favreau manages to channel the childishness of someone forced to hang out with someone they don't know - and is quite brutally funny in his apathy.
But it's Paul Rudd's film again - after Role Models, Rudd's continuing to carve this niche as an actor who plays it so straight and so realistic, that every time he does something out of character (or tries to fit in) on screen, he sticks out like a sore thumb.
He's damn near perfected the art of cringeworthy comedy - where just as you think he can't humiliate himself any more, he manages to plumb new depths - albeit it in a very realistic way.
Kudos also need to be given to Jason Segel - whereas his character Syd could have gone too far into parody, by playing it 100% straight and realistic (with just a hint of crazy) he's the perfect foil to Rudd.

Sure, I Love You, Man won't change the world too much - but I bet any man who says he doesn't associate with Peter Klaven on some level is secretly lying and plotting how to meet more friends and bring back the bromance.