I Love You, Man is more reminiscent of the recent slew of Judd Apatow movies than it is to director John Hamburg's past PG-13 friendly films. Yet Hamburg's crisp script and direction propels I Love You, Man towards the former's successes rather than being seen as a knockoff, creating a stand-alone title that can deal with the Apatow associations and still garner a wide fan base.
Main character Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) is getting married to Zooey (Rashida Jones), but there's only one problem - Peter's a little lacking in the friends department. Overhearing a bit of criticism over not having a best man, Peter sets out on a handful of man-dates to find a friend quickly, although none really succeed. While trying to sell the Hulk's mansion, Peter meets Sydney (Jason Segel), a unique fellow with a taste for reading people's movements and the band Rush. Peter and Sydney hit it off quite well (albeit a bit awkwardly), and soon Peter's hanging with Sydney more then Zooey. This causes a bit of strife within the marriage, ending in Peter breaking it off with Sydney right before his wedding. Yikes!
I Love You, Man plays out like a romantic comedy of sorts - only this time, instead of wooing a woman, Peter is finding a guy to hang out with. There are a lot of similarities between dating and Peter and Sydney's relationship, which are intentional and effectively placed to create a lot of humor. And while the romantic comedy genre has become a stale and tasteless affair, this film breathes new life into both the aforementioned category and the buddy comedy.
What carries the film in both comedy and entertainment is the awkward, quirky characters. Paul Rudd's character is an odd yet lovable man, made even more unique by the way he converses with people. One gets the feeling that he doesn't quite know his social cues yet, and most of the dialogue that happens between Peter and other characters is where the laughs lie. Rudd does a great job of establishing Peter's personality early on in the film and never wavers from it.
Jason Segel is the second stand-out here for obvious reasons, as he is the character that needs to be the most likeable to pull Peter away from Zooey. Segel pulls it off well, especially because it feels like Sydney might just be the real Segel anyway. There's a lot to enjoy about Sydney - the fact that he's all about truth, his love of throwing professionalism to the wayside to jam out with friends, his good-natured humor and attempts of helping others - that make for humor and realism.
But the main characters are not the only ones who add a lightening atmosphere. Andy Samberg makes an appearance as Peter's gay brother, Thomas Lennon from Reno 911! puts in a cameo as Peter's gay lover, and Joe Lo Truglio plays a guy whose voice cracks every time he gets excited. Each has his or her own quirks which seem little but add a lot to the plot in establishing a sense of accepting the unique or strange.
The beginning of the film differs a lot from the second half, as Sydney and Peter don't meet until about halfway through the movie. The beginning is more about establishing Peter as an individual and showing his relationship with Zooey. Yet I couldn't help but feel that, as Peter and Sydney become better friends, the audience is shown too much of Peter-Sydney and not enough of Peter-Zooey. It's unfortunate that Rashida Jones is absent from many of the scenes, as her character seems to be one of the more typical characters that helps to establish an anchor of normalcy. Zooey and Peter's relationship is lacking in depth and drama, and it would have better suited the film to go for a more equal view of both relationships to get a more intense reaction from the fact that Sydney is encroaching on the couple's romance.
But with that nitpick aside, I Love You, Man is really good - it tackles a few important themes while also supplying a plethora of hysterical, embarrassing situations. There's a tendency to battle gender roles and sexual norms that stands out as a critique on our culture, and even though we laugh while in the context of the film, the content is still buried behind the jokes. It's refreshing to find that we are moving towards a more open-minded time where movies can present a motif such as a platonic, loving male friendship and be taken seriously as a truly understandable experience.
Let's just take, for example, the scene where the two men go out to dinner together. Here, we have a manly bonding experience discussing relationship problems and even social dilemmas. This instance is a challenge to our own views on culture - how often do we see men having dinner at a table for two?
While there's a slight lack of a climax and effective conclusion to the fight between Zooey and Peter over Sydney, it makes sense when one thinks of it - what is so wrong with a guy having a really close friend to share their passions and thoughts with? It's not weird for women or men to love the same sex in sexual or friendly ways, and I Love You, Man makes that known by Zooey's complete acceptance of it. The movie is rewarding in this regard, and also presents a true-to-life humor that gives one the sense that the times are changing for the better. And man, I love that.
2 COMMENTS:
Great write-up. ILUM was a great film with some fun major and minor characters. You really nailed it all with your review.
Thanks a lot!
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