Charming and sweet, gross and funny.

Rating: 8/10 (23 March 2009)

Paul Rudd, one of the best comic actors in work today, does some of his best work as Peter Klaven, a man engaged to the beautiful and bubbly Zooey, played wonderfully by Rashida Jones, who has a severe lack of guy buddies to hang out with or for that matter be the best man in his wedding. His family decides to help out and send him on a bunch of exotic "man-dates" with different guys that don't seem to work too well. Then, Sydney Fife comes along. Portrayed by the very funny Jason Segel, Sydney is the antithesis of Peter: bold, daring, and utterly and completely acceptable of his inner manhood. He and Peter hit it off due to their common lack of male friends as well as a love for the band Rush.
Despite the simple premise and the lack of surprise and originality, Rudd and Segel make it pay off by just making us laugh as well as care about these characters. Rudd, in particular is so good at timing and understanding the basics of being funny and sweet at the same time. You really feel for this guy and want him to end up happy as well as Zooey and Sydney. Director/co-writer John Hamburg does a great job with getting the most out of his incredible cast as well as making the most out of a somewhat lame plot. After the many comedies we have seen over the years involving platonic men relationships such as Superbad and Pineapple Express, this is the most endearing and touching. I'm sure a lot of guys out there feel like Peter, and perhaps seeing this film will inspire them to go out and make a new friend. For that reason alone, I encourage anyone to go see this charming, gross, sweet but ultimately very funny movie.