I Love You, Man
Judd Apatow is by all accounts the new Kevin Smith. For a time in the nineties, Smith had a stranglehold on the comedy world with Clerks, Chasing Amy and (to a lesser degree) Mallrats. His films may not have been high art, but it seemed like most comedies around that time tried to emulate Smith’s dialogue and crude humor. Apatow has now reached that status and I Love You, Man is the most prominent example of that yet. Outside of having Paul Rudd in the film, this movie is not associated with Judd or his compatriots.
The film opens with Peter Klaven (Rudd), a submissive, feminine relator proposing to his girlfriend Zooey (Rashida Jones) who agrees to marry him. So Zooey tells her friends Denise (Jamie Pressly) and Hailey (Sarah Burns) while Peter can only celebrate with his gay brother Robbie (Andy Samburg) and his parents (Jane Curtain and the always delightful J. K. Simmons.) We see Peter has always had girls for friends and never had real guy friends. This poses a problem as Peter has to find a Best Man for his wedding. At an open house where Peter will sell Lou Ferrigno’s estate, Peter runs into Sydney Fife (Jason Segal) a metrosexual who is there just to have the food and who seems to connect very well with Peter. So the two hang out, a lot, and bond. It seems as if all of Peter’s troubles.
The prevalent problem with I Love You, Man stems from how nothing is really changed by the end of it nor does anything feel accomplished. That may have been the point, but in most good comedies these days the lead is usually changed and the main cast learned something about themselves. Here, everyone remains genuinely the same aside from Peter now having a friend. The filmmakers have opportunities to drive a point home and yet they don’t. Not to say that it would have been cheesy or anything, but it feels very empty once the final frame comes up.
It’s weird to think about and say, but I’ve attended a wedding where the best man was in fact a woman. In that instance I have to ask why couldn’t Peter find one of his gal pals to be there for him? If it was to be more traditional then fine, but the film never says that or even hints at that as a possibility. What also doesn’t help is that it takes way too long for Sydney and Peter to finally hook-up. Sure, there’s a series of funny dates but it feels as if an hour passes before these two actually meet. Then, ironically, the film speeds through everything else. As seems to be a staple of these flicks, Zooey and Peter break-up until to reconcile ten minutes later. Like much of the film, there’s no real build-up to that – or anything else that happens.
There are a ton of laughs to be had though, and that’s where the film succeeds. Paul Rudd seemed born to play the role of Peter who’s more feminine than his wife is. He’s a treat to watch as he tries to be masculine but comes off as awkward. Jason Segal is the complete opposite, but never feels as loud or obnoxious as essentially the Seth Rogen character. He’s more reserved than Rogen’s character but is still macho and portrays himself as ‘the man’. A nice little touch, though, is that Sydney comes off very metrosexual. When he discusses porking a nurse you wonder if he means male or female until we’re actually shown which team he plays for. It helped add a level of depth to what is an otherwise selfish character.
Rashida Jones is decent as Zooey, but is way too accepting of what happens between Syndey and Paul at first. She doesn’t question it, and just takes it like “oh yay, now I don’t have this schlub around when I’m with the girls.” Even when she should be mad about her husband spending too much time with his new friend, Jones just plays it as more of an opinion rather than concern. In fact, that sort of defeats the film’s purpose. So much time is spent trying to find Peter the perfect male friend and yet when he finally finds his mate, she gets upset. Wouldn’t be a problem except most of Zooey’s scenes consist of her with her friends, like she’s putting her friends over Peter.
The supporting characters range from ok to fun. The standouts are Jamie Pressly and Jon Faverau as a married couple that epitomizes two people who are in it just for the sex. Pressly’s Diane is the perfect stuck-up bitch who has no right to be and Faverau is the ultimate alpha male in Barry. Watching him blow up in front of his friends when Peter schools him in a game of poker is one of the best laugh’s the film has. Sarah Burns is serviceable as Hailey, but like her character she’s too bland. The standouts are the dates Peter has, notably Doug (Thomas Lennon) and Mel Stein (Murray Gershnez). Doug is full-on homosexual and lays one of the funniest ever on-screen male kisses on Peter. Mel is a foul-mouthed old man who’s looking for any sort of companionship he can find. Plus, when’s the last time we’ve had an eighty-plus year old man sprout the f-word left and right?
I Love You, Man does it’s job, but ultimately feels like a big missed opportunity. The leads have great chemistry and come off as two best buds, but the film doesn’t feel like it’s out to accomplish anything after the two get together. They could have easily ended the film right after Sydney and Peter hang out and it would have come across with the same effect. They only shoot for laughs, and they do get them but the story has no merit and could have just as easily not happened. It’s a success, but only on the scale that it’s audience will laugh. Otherwise, it’s not going to hold up in future years.
Rating: 
