I Love You, Man Review
Don't you hate when movies use the title in the movie? It seems cheesy.
The basic premise of the story is that soon after Peter Klaven(Paul Rudd) proposes to his girlfriend of 8 months, Zooey(Rashida Jones), he realizes he has no guy friends whatsoever. The meat of the movie is him searching for a best friend, who he eventually finds in Sidney Fife (Jason Segel).
Now, to be frank and to the point, I expected more from this movie. The trailer looked hilarious and got me pumped to go see this flick, but I just felt that it did not deliver all that it promised. The only things that were truly ingenious/ well written were the parts of the film that were shown in the trailer, lessening the surprise and excitement on their delivery. Apparently Apatow was not involved in this movie, but you can definitely notice the influence of his work on this film. I came into the moving thinking that it was an Apatow film, but after watching it, I realized how mistaken I had been.
This was not at the same caliber as Apatow’s work…the lines feel uninspired and at times…boring! Though Segel and Rudd work monumentally well together, much of the talk between jokes is forgettable. The two lead actors put so much into their characters, it pains me that they are brought down a notch by the unpolished structure and unpolished nature of the script. Structurally, the film is a very predictable comedy. The plot is very linear, and though some random curve balls are thrown in ( Lou Ferrigno, the Hulk for example), but it seems like reaching/stretching. You see the makings of the final conflict working much earlier than they needed to be…and you just know that things will turn out better than anyone could hope.
My real gripe about the script is that it felt like the only dialogue that had any meaning was the witty banter/ dirty jokes / comments that was passed like a football between characters. The fights between Rudd and Jones seem petty and uninteresting…the final confrontation before the resolution between Segal and Rudd felt lifeless and unbelievable. But like I said before, it is not Rudd’s or Segal’s fault…the story is simply missing some beats that would aid in putting a bit of oomph to the situations.
The ancillary characters are one of the few real successes in the movie. Each minor character has a unique voice that is interestingly developed throughout the movie, sometimes even stealing some of the thunder from the main characters. Once again, their efforts are somewhat lost in the structure of the movie, which makes them more like extras touting lines at random times, rather than essential pieces of a puzzle.
From the technical side of things, not much can be said about things here. As expected from this type of movie, the cinematography is simple and non-invasive, allowing the characters to work in the scene. There is one particular scene where Segal and Rudd hug after a particular “moment” and the fountains in the background “blow their load”, a visual metaphor that gave me a chuckle. I should note here that there is some very weird homo eroticism that permeates throughout this movie, that gives it a certain awkward charm—similar to what was accomplished in Superbad. But this movie is no Superbad, though it tries desperately.
In conclusion, I’ll say that the movie would be doomed were it not for the charismatic Segal and Rudd combination. The story is predictable yet at times strangely random. As far as being a movie with a point…I feel that the movie could have been more than what it is in its present form. It could have been a deeper, more heartwarming character study of the girls’ guy, but rather, it felt like a camera following two goofballs messing around. Watch it for the witty dialogue, funny ancillary characters, and the clever repartee, but don’t expect much in other categories.
