| I LOVE YOU, MAN |
| I Love You, Man (2009) Published: April 16, 2009 Written by Cherish Hamutoff I Love You, Man is a typical rom-com with a switch: straight boy meets straight boy, boys develop boy crush, boys break up, bros make up, and everyone lives happily ever after. Hollywood’s in love with the bromance. Paul Rudd stars as Peter Klaven, the perfect boyfriend: sensitive, attentive, and loving. What he’s missing is a brofriend. When he overhears his fiancée, Zooey (Rashida Jones), and her bounty of bridesmaids voicing their concern for his lack of a man love life, Peter starts the hunt for a Best Man. After a series of failed man dates, Peter sees soft-bellied, hard-tempered, and all around guy’s guy, Sydney Fife (Jason Segel) across the room. Their eyes lock, they laugh over a fart joke and a Panini, and it’s a boy crush at first sight. They bond at Sydney’s man cave in Venice, CA, where he has a designated masturbation station and a full drum kit, replete with mics and axes. As their love grows, Peter’s relationship suffers with Zooey. Will Peter have to choose between Zooey and Sydney, or can bromance coexist with romance? What could have been a typical teenage boy gross-out film filled with fart jokes and sight gags, was transformed into a charming film with heart and laughs because of the chemistry of the perfectly cast actors, the well-written and contemporary subject matter, and the hilarious running cameo with Lou Ferrigno. As filled as it was with cringe-inducing moments, it balanced them with true laughs and tender moments. Rudd as Peter bumbled himself though a first friendship, giving really awkward nicknames, leaving mortifyingly embarrassing phone messages and trying to be cool and exit with dignity – which never seemed to work out. And because he was so relatable, he had the audience totally on his side. Who doesn’t remember bumbling though a conversation with the “cool kid?” Segel as Sydney was relatable in a different way: who doesn’t know that guy; the average bum with a charming chip on his shoulder who inexplicably always gets laid? By hot girls, nonetheless. One would never think to pair this odd couple together, but they each need something from the other, and somehow, it works. The rest of the cast also left the audience in stitches: Barry (Favreau) and Denise (Pressly) are a married couple who are always on the edge of knocking each other out, but that hate turns to heat which they plan to dispense in the bedroom. Peter’s father (Simmons) and brother (Samberg) are best friends and way cooler than Peter, and although gay, Peter’s brother is the manly one. Jo Lo Truglio’s screeching sports-obsessed character walked the razor’s edge of being too much or being the funniest thing I’ve seen. Favreau and Pressly walked the edge too, and with great comedy precision. The whole movie lived on the edge of a little too gross out, a little too bromantic, a bit sexist, a whole lot of TMI (masturbation chair, doggie doo, deep feelings between males); but it loved living on that edge, and for me, it never fell off and that’s where the trill was. It’s a laugh out loud comedy with a tender romance – between straight men. I loved I Love You, Man. Rated: R Running time: 105 minutes Directed by: John Hamburg Written by: John Hamburg Starring: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, J.K. Simmons, Jane Curtin, Jon Favreau, Jaime Pressly, Lou Ferrigno |