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I Love You, Man

Review By: Andrea Tuccillo
AndreaTuccillo@TheCinemaSource.com

Movie Grade: A-

Paul Rudd is quickly becoming the go-to bromantic comedy guy. As he showed in Role Models, he’s not afraid of some genuine “manffection.” That’s, uh, affection for another man, if you’re not familiar with the terminology. In I Love You, Man, Jason Segel is the object of said manffection.

Peter Klavin (Rudd) works in real estate and has just proposed to his pretty, put-together sweetheart Zoe (Rashida Jones). He’s also what we call a “girlfriend guy.” Someone who has always had girlfriends, but never any guy friends. He just seems to relate better to women. He loves The Devil Wears Prada, likes spending Sundays at home watching HBO and his idea of playing sports is fencing. Zoe loves him just the way he is, so there’s really nothing wrong with that—except that in planning their wedding he realizes that he doesn’t have a Best Man.

At the encouragement of Zoe, he decides to go out and make some friends. A hilarious string of man-dates follow, including a high-talking personal trainer from the gym where his gay brother (Andy Samberg) works and a guy who thinks the man-date is, well, a real date. Peter even tries hanging out with Zoe’s friend’s brutish husband and his poker buddies. That ends in an unfortunate projectile vomit incident. Finally at an open house one day, Peter meets Sydney Fife. The guy is refreshingly laidback in a Venice surfer dude/slacker/hippie kind of way. The two hit it off and start hanging out. Maybe a little too much, to the chagrin of Zoe. Will Peter’s bromance put the kibosh on his romance?

Once again Rudd delivers his impeccable comic timing. (I’ve proclaimed my love for him in various reviews and spotlights on this very website.) This is probably one of the nerdiest characters he’s ever played and he relishes in the dorkiness. He has fun adlibbing (I’m guessing) Peter’s many nervous, verbal quirks. Peter makes up words, shortens words that need not be abbreviated and is never quick on the witty retorts. Every attempt of his at being witty just comes off painfully—and hilariously—awkward. And he can’t for the life of him make up a decent nickname for Sydney. While Sydney effortlessly starts calling him “Pistol”, the best Peter can come up with is “Jobin.” Yeah, it makes no sense. But it’s funny.

Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) is Rudd’s perfect opposite. His Sydney brings Peter out of his shell with his freewheeling views on life. Yet we also see that he needs a friend just as much as Peter does. Heck, there’s more chemistry between these two than between Rudd and Jones! Then again, that’s the whole point of the movie. They’re like Newman and Redford—if Newman and Redford had ever tried their hands at a balls-out comedy. (Rudd would be Newman, of course. It’s the ...