I Love You, Man (2009) April 17, 2009
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: John Hamburg
If the recent indulgence in movies from director and producer Judd Apatow has shown us one thing, it’s that crude jokes and sentimentality can, in fact, work in harmony – sometimes. Notice, though, that the strongest relationships formed in those movies are often between male friends: the proverbial ‘bromance’. Did you really want Seth Rogen to father Katherine Heigl’s child in Knocked Up [review], or was it more entertaining to see him and Paul Rudd space out in Las Vegas? The all-male poker scene is by far the most memorable and defining in The 40 Year Old Virgin, while movies such as Superbad [review] and Pineapple Express [review] are almost entirely bro-mantic in nature. So instead of hiding behind pregnancy or alcohol or drugs, why not just come right out with it: “I love you, man”.
That’s pretty much the subject of this film, a dissection of the weirdness that exists in male friendships. It centres on Peter Klaven, a struggling real estate agent who, on proposing to his girlfriend Zooey, realises he has no male friends to be his best man. So, Peter embarks on a series of unsuccessful ‘man dates’ in order to find a new buddy whom he can pop the question to, as it were. After a few colossal failures he accidentally meets Sydney Fife at an open house and begins to think he might have found ‘the one’. But uptight Peter doesn’t know exactly how to react to this strangely free-spirited new guy-friend, while rocking out to Rush in Sydney’s basement starts to put extra strain on his relationship with Zooey.
Firstly, to see: ‘From the director of Along Came Polly and the writer of Doctor Dolittle’ (yes, both 1 and 2) is hardly a ringing endorsement. But appearances can be deceiving, especially in the script department where this seemingly 
predictable plot often manages to twist its situational comic nature into genuinely funny outcomes. Of course, it still manages to ring all the obvious old bells, and nobody is going to be too shocked by the ending, but for this particular narrative, the moments in-between are worth more than the story as a whole. Director John Hamburg has admirably kept things tight too, bringing the whole flick in at an even hour and forty-five minutes.
Meanwhile, the cast really shine – especially Paul Rudd, who steps up from co-starring in last year’s Role Models with Sean William Scott. Many will have seen his supporting appearances in what seems like almost every comedy from the past half decade, but this is a graduation to full-fledged anchor in a mainstream movie, and he holds it together perfectly. Rudd fans will, of course, be aware that he has previously helmed some smaller films, playing unsatisfied husband in The Oh In Ohio [review] (a decent comedy let down by its lack of focus), and as compare-turned-narrator of sketch movie, The Ten (another comedy with high ideas but not enough homeruns). As a jobbing actor he works incredibly hard it seems, but more notable is that he always gives himself over to a part, whatever the size. That facet certainly bares fruit here, as Rudd makes highly amusing fodder out of his tongue-tied, socially awkward character.
Jason Segel is also a gift to the film, playing well away from the hypersensitive sop he embodied in Forgetting Sarah Marshall [review]. Here, he gets to cut loose and clearly enjoys doing so, whether it be freaking out locals on the boardwalk, or thrashing his axe in the purpose-build man cave. As Peter’s fiancée, Rashida Jones does a fine job, stepping up from her role in the US version of The Office, meanwhile, it’s always a joy to see J.K. Simmons in a movie, even if he does seem to have become trapped in the malfunctioning father role from Juno [review]. There’s also support from Jon Favrau as tough guy and obvious foil to Peter, plus Andy Samberg tones himself way down and comes off great in a small part playing Peter’s gay younger brother.
With such strong comic cast on board, it’s no surprise to see Larry Levin and John Hamburg’s script take on a much-welcomed extra layer of laughs, mainly from the performances of Rudd and Segel. Eventually though, the movie does start to run out of plotting steam as the conclusion rears its head. There are moments in the third act where cutting between Peter having a conversation with Sydney, then Peter having a conversation with Zooey, and then back again, 
gets awfully repetitive. Crucially though, throughout all of this the laughter never stops flowing. If there’s one thing that keeps this comedy boat afloat, it’s that there’s always a laugh right round the corner. Even if you don’t exactly care what is going on, somehow you just don’t want it to stop happening.
Expectedly, the name Judd Apatow comes up a lot in discussion around this movie; mainly because it’s exactly his kind of film, with exactly his choice of cast. Apatow actually has nothing to do with the project, but it’s certainly amusing to see how his influence has penetrated mainstream American comedy to the point of being a concise and informative point of comparison. Even without him though, ‘I Love You, Man’ works, not because it is the best story, or because it has the most depth, but because it never gives up on its silly central premise and it has the script, and cast, to achieve a consistent level of laughs. Call it a guy movie if you have to, this comedy should find fans with all types of audiences. And to Paul Rudd, I just want to say… well, you know.
I Love You, Man is on UK general release from today.
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