(Advance) MOVIE REVIEW: I Love You, Man

The love is mutual.



When I first heard of this movie I was reminded of the snappy new word that has entered into our daily vocabulary and thus become a major selling point of this film. The key slang term of course being “bromance.”

I thought to myself, oh boy this is going to be another one of those lame-o frat guy flicks for sure. Then I saw the trailer and it looked rather promising. Then I actually watched the film. And it totally exceeded my expectations!

I Love You, Man is not just a hilarious movie; it’s actually a decently written one too.

It’s smart, it’s clever, it’s witty…it’s got great dynamic acting on both the parts of Paul Rudd and Jason Segel…it’s just totally worth seeing. Plus it doesn’t rely too heavily on the overly predictable gay jokes one would expect to carry it through either. Not to say they aren’t in there, but there are some scenes that are just downright hysterical because of the performances delivered by these two very funny actors.

I have to admit that I’ve never seen anything prior to this that Rudd or Segel were in, so I don’t know if this is how they usually are, yet the characters they play in this movie have great chemistry and work so well together.

Some of the best lines come from the awkward bits of dialogue shared between the two, especially when Peter Klaven (Rudd’s character) is trying so desperately to fit in and act cool in the hopes of impressing his new friend Sydney (played by Segel).

For instance, Peter will go on and on, interjecting little bits under his breath to try and make up for his blundered “hip talk” of a few moments ago. Compared to the naturally cool Sydney, Peter’s so nervous he just fumbles wherever possible, which makes it so endearing and funny to watch.

Another great comedic moment delivered by Rudd is when he’s doing impressions of foreign accents. (I can totally relate to this.) His character butchers them to the point of non-recognition and ends up sounding so far removed it just sounds silly. Or as Peter’s fiancé (played by Rashida Jones) says, “why are you talking like a leprechaun?”

Unfortunately, the first 20-30 minutes were rather slow for my liking and had me worried that this film would be nothing more than mediocre. But once Jason Segel’s character entered into the mix, it was like the movie got hit with a shot of comedic cocaine and the movie instantly grew ten times more funny, holding on to that humorous high, straight through to the end.

Very funny stuff. Go see it. You’ll love it too…man.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Four Christmases

Four Christmases I don't wanna spend time with!



Mediocre is the best way to sum it up. Not bad per say, but just not great.

It was like getting socks when you're expecting an Xbox on Christmas. Based on the looks of the trailer, I was expecting much more. It was like they kept building the jokes up and up and then letting the bottom fall out at the punchline.

Now I'm not that big of a Vince Vaughn fan (or Reese Witherspoon for that matter), but I could appreciate their style in this film...IF they had something to work with.

And better on-screen chemistry at that.

Too bad the script had Vaughn saying so much that I would've been much happier to see him simply shut the hell up. Now I know, this is the character he plays in most of his movies; the one who keeps talking and talking, and though quite talented, he's not a lead actor by any means. Yet in this film, he's given that responsibility which I don't see why, given that Witherspoon is much better equipped for this.

But okay, I went with it. And I was disappointed. Okay, I could see Witherspoon taking the reins with the romantic play, but instead Vaughn plays the semi-romantic one here.

I say "semi" romantic because there is a perfect example at the end of why he doesn't work in this role. Right at the defining point of the movie. The potential Jerry Maguire "you complete me" scene. Talk about letting what could've been a classic get cuddly w/your honey type moment go stale~sheesh!

But to add insult to injury, there's a scene that involves a pregnancy test gone sour...or bitter, depending upon what urine tastes like (i.e. a kid steals the test in a game of "keep away" with Witherspoon which eventually winds up IN the child's mouth).

Aaaaand at this point, I was convinced that the movie was definitely NOT what I asked for this christmas. I hope Santa kept the receipt on those socks.

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