I Love You, Man? Or Woman?

Rating: 3/10 (26 August 2009)

So, I watched this movie for the first time the other day, and I have to say that while it had some funny parts, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I was going to. The funniest part was Paul Rudd (Knocked Up, Clueless) and Jason Segel's (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Freaks and Geeks) impression(s) of Andre the Giant. That was the funniest part. Of the ENTIRE MOVIE. Pretty sad, don't you think? OK, so, granted, it wasn't your usual romantic comedy, and I give them credit for trying something new. The film was about a guy who has no guy friends and has to find a best man for his upcoming wedding. He is supposed to be this "girlfriend guy" who is better with women than he is with men. But honestly, I found myself thinking throughout the entire movie that if I encountered this guy in real life, I would not date him because 1) I would assume he was gay, and if I found out he wasn't, 2) he's so painfully awkward that I'd want to punch him. I don't know what girl would ever date him, which made the idea of him moving from relationship to relationship completely unbelievable. Now, I think Paul Rudd is a great comedic actor, but his character in this movie is so much a girl that I honestly thought that he and Jason Segel were going to get together in the end. TOGETHER together.
The pacing of this movie was also way off. That coupled with Pete's awkwardness made it almost unbearable. I felt it dragging after the first twenty minutes, and the comedy suffered as a result. There were plenty of jokes, don't get me wrong. They were just.... spaced.... apart... so much.... that.... ooh, look! Something shiny on the floor of the living room. What's going on?
I wish we had seen more of Jason Segel's character in the film. When he was on screen, the movie's pace picked up, and the action got more intense. Plus, his macho attitude played really well against Rudd's girliness (which was the point of the movie, I guess, but because we didn't see much of Segel by himself to get a second view of him, you can see why I made the above comment about the end). When he wasn't on, though, it dragged. And dragged.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that this movie had so much potential for a really good bromance, and it let me down. It was slow and boring with one-dimensional characters. Go and rent it for yourself, though. If anything, watch it for the jokes, and for the awkwardness (if you can bear it). But don't expect something as good as Rudd and Segel's other movies.