Comedy Is Lost

I think that many will agree that recently, genuine comedies have been sparse, romcoms are robotically similar and funny has been lost and been replaced with short silly moments in which half the audience cringes instead of laughing.
I have given up on wasting my money going to the cinema to see comedy films as they are simply all the same. I do not know whether this is due to punch lines running out or people’s preferences changing, but it has been a long time since I was that impressed by a film and I think even directors are avoiding calling their films funny to ensure that disappointment is limited.

I Love You Man

I do not want to put you under any illusions that this film was dramatically different to any other comedies recently, or make I Love You Man the exception, however I rented this film not long ago, and genuinely enjoyed it so much that when I saw it in my local shop for £6.99 I bought it.

What’s it all about?

Like any past great comedy, I Love You man is a simple storyline; Peter proposes to his girlfriend only to realise that he has work associates, family, and sporting partners, but no actual friends. With his wedding looming he is under pressure to find a best man and prove to his fiancée that he can make man friends.

The film follows Peter go on a number of comical man dates which eventually puts some pressure on his engagement when he actually finds someone who really fits the role of best man.

Who’s Involved?

The director of the film John Hamburg has directed a few other small films, however was a writer for big names like ‘Meet the Fockers’ ‘Meet the Parents’ and the slightly ridiculous ‘Zoolander.’

The cast consists of a few nig names in comedy -

Peter Klaven - Paul Rudd
Zooey - Rashida Jones
Sydney Fife - Jason Segel
Hailey - Sarah Burns
Barry - Jon Favreau

I was really interested to see this film due to the cast, I am a big fan of Paul Rudd, I always find his acting to be really light yet quite hearty and I find I can usually make me connect in some way with his character.
I Love You Man was no exception, he acts really naturally throughout his role in the film as Peter, I always find that I am left believing that he is like his character in real life. Although I am sure Paul Rudd has many friends in real life, I do think that he’s character really reflected his true personality, or maybe it doesn’t maybe he is just a really good actor!

Jason Segel is also another actor who I was really impressed with, I know he is most famous in his role in ‘How I Met You Mother’ which I had never seen when I watched this film, so although his face was familiar to me I had no experience of his acting, I was left really enjoying his character and I think he fitted his intended role perfectly.

Peter and Sydney are the main focus of the film and their connection with each other was brilliant, I could tell from watching this film that they enjoyed making it and working together as this was really reflected in their acting. I think this may be the important factor which makes the film funny. They are a duo which is easy and fun to watch.

Although I find Rashida Jones to be a good actress, I was not sure about her role in this film, her connection wasn’t always there with Paul Rudd and I felt that some scenes with her in left a taste of awkwardness in my mouth. She does not contribute a great amount of comedy to the set but does play an important role in the films function.
Zooey is Peter’s fiancée and although the film does have some romantic flickers, I did find myself wanting to rush through the scenes with her in and just get to the comedy moments.

Comedy

This film is not a romcom, however it was described in one paper as being a ‘Bromance’ which is now my new word (due to me finding it hilarious) and is perfect to describe the genre off the film.
Because the story line is light there is a lot of room for comedy in this, the director plays about with ‘man dates’ which are used to really add comedy factor and introduce us to some really fun and interesting characters, sometimes the scenes go off on a tangent and start to become a bit silly but overall this section of the film is genuinely funny.

The main comedy genius comes from Sydney, he is a really great character and I think that it is his differences to the character of peter which makes their relationship so comical yet so perfect in fit.
His character is full of testosterone and is really open and honest, leading to some scenes which are both funny and on the edge.

There are a few scenes which are a bit rude and bordering on cringe worthy but I found that throughout the film all of the characters manage to pull it off together and there isn’t long to wait between genuine laugh moments.

Some of the scenes are slightly slapstick which I think is an attempt at trying too hard, I do not relate well to slapstick comedy but luckily the director pulls most of the scenes off and I really was laughing with this one.

Scenery

I was really impressed by the films use of different scenes. There is nothing worse than a film in which you film like you are trapped in the same film set. I Love You Man travels from different bars and restaurants, to the outside for walks, and different houses without me ever losing track of where we are and what is going on.

The scenery is interesting and bright which I think lightens the mood and makes it easier to laugh when something funny comes along, the mood is really lightened by some of the sets, especially when the boys are in Sydney’s ‘cave’ there are so many funny and interesting props you can tell that the director made sure every nook and cranny was looked after to make each scene is as effective as possible.

Popularity

I picked this up in Blockbuster months ago because it had received such good reviews, I had heard good things about it from all sources, but it wasn’t on in the cinema long and so I had my doubts.
The movie has been highly rated on film review websites, so at least I know that it is not just me that found some of the scenes so hilarious.

When the film was released in the cinemas it was also quite refreshing to hear that many critics found it to be different, in story line and in league from most recent comedies that have been out in recent months although the reviews were great, this still did not convince me to visit the cinemas and I can imagine that many other audiences have also given up on recent comedy failures so did not give this one a chance.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack in the film is easy to listen to and each song really compliments each scene it is paired with, there are even some songs like ‘limelight’ which are performed by the main characters themselves.

Generally the songs and music throughout the movie are light rock and songs that I have not heard before but I enjoyed the soundtrack and honestly have no complaints.

Rated

This is rated currently at one of my favourite comedy films, I was impressed by the storyline in the film and the way that it was played, I have seen enough comedy films to know how romance is played on screen and all the scenes that they can throw at an audience, I have never however seen a film which concentrates less on a romance and more on friendship between two men.

I think the film carries a strong message which everyone can relate to, it is hard making friends as an adult.

The comedy throughout the film was constant, funny moments are scattered throughout, and although I wasn’t crying with laughter the whole way through I think there are two bits in the film in which I had to pause the film to stop laughing or I was at risk of missing a lot!

Who’s it for?

As I have said, the film does have some on the edge moments so I definitely do not recommend it to children, there is some strong language and crude sexual references. But if you are over 16, 17 then I think that you would get most of the jokes and definitely enjoy this film.

I definitely recommend this film to anyone who has an open mind and is willing to give another comedy a go. It has a 105minute runtime which is maybe 10minutes too long, but please give this a go, I assure you that you will come out loving Paul Rudd and it will definitely cheer your day up.

I have bought this on DVD because it was cheap and after watching it the first time I know that I will be watching it again and again, this is a really great film to watch with friends.

xx