Quirky 'bromance' vacillates between moments of mirth and outright crudity

Rating: 6/10 (19 December 2010)

'I love you, man' reminds me of Seinfeld: it's much more farce than comedy. Like Seinfeld, the protagonists are likable but offbeat and quirky and the antagonists who oppose them are far more neurotic (proverbial 'damaged goods') than the protagonists. It should be noted that one of the co-writers is Larry Levin, who wrote for 'Seinfeld' back in the 90s.
Peter Klaven (played by the amiable Paul Rudd) is a real estate broker in Southern California who's about to get married to Zooey (Rashida Jones). Peter feels embarrassed by the fact that he has no close male friends and is determined to find a best man for his wedding. It's made clear at a family gathering that Peter always felt more comfortable around women in contrast to gay brother Robbie who of course has no trouble meeting men and his father Oswald, who boasts about having a lifetime male best friend.
Peter then goes out on a series of unsuccessful 'man-dates' where he meets one loser after another. One of those dates is Robbie's crazy personal trainer colleague who has a funny bit 'losing it' at an LA Galaxy soccer game. There's also another weird guy Peter's mother fixes him up with; it turns out he's gay and ends up kissing Peter outside the restaurant they went to for dinner. This character pops up later and he's amusing as a frustrated stalker.
Less successful is the gruff Barry, husband of Zooey's good friend, Denise. Peter is reluctantly invited over for some male bonding at a poker game and ends up throwing up all over Barry after a night of drinking. I didn't really see the humor in the Barry character, as he is supposed to be some humorless macho guy who is continually reminding Peter that he doesn't fit into the world of male camaraderie. Finally there's Tevin, Peter's fellow real estate associate, who obnoxiously keeps asking Peter whether he'll consider going partners on selling an expensive house which Peter has been rep-ping for real-life actor Lou Ferrigno (TV's 'Hulk'). Tevin is not a very funny or endearing character especially when he suggests that Peter promote himself by putting his image on urinal cakes in well-known, local restaurants.
It takes about 25 minutes into the film when Peter finally meets his 'bro', Sydney Fife, at an open house which Peter has organized in an attempt to sell Lou Ferrigno's house. Sydney reveals to Peter that the only reason he shows up at these open houses is for the food and to possibly pick up available divorcées. Peter is drawn to the aggressive, single Sydney after he proves to be quite intuitive in discerning the true motives of some of Peter's prospective buyers. In a bizarre bit, Sydney observes how one prospective client sends his date to look at another room in the house as he doesn't want her around when he farts. Even when we learn that Sydney refuses to clean up after his dog defecates on a Venice boardwalk, Peter is more fascinated than repulsed by the extremely eccentric Sydney. Sydney's belief that dog doody is good for the environment is a turn-off but it IS funny when he morphs into a lunatic and begins screaming at the guy who tries to call him on his refusal to clean up, after his dog relieves himself.
Peter proves to be just as quirky as Sydney but in a much more good-natured way. One of Peter's perennial tics is his blurting out of things he doesn't mean to say as well as assigning nicknames to Sydney which make no sense. For awhile, Sydney's single life proves attractive to Peter. They bond at Sydney's cluttered bachelor pad even though Sydney reveals he has a small 'station' in his house reserved for masturbation. Peter also has no objection to Sydney's firm conviction that no discussions about their sex lives are off-limits. The only 'normal' thing that the odd couple seem to share is a love for the rock band 'Rush'. After revealing that he used to play bass in high school, Peter accompanies Sydney (who plays guitar), as they jam to Rush songs at the bachelor pad.
Eventually, Sydney's confrontational style gets Peter into hot water at his engagement party. Cryptically, Sydney reveals that Peter is somewhat unhappy with Zooey as she doesn't appear to enjoy oral sex. Peter escapes Zooey's condemnation during the car ride home, when he calls her on her earlier revelations of their sex life to her friends.
Peter and Sydney's relationship reaches its apotheosis when Peter lends his buddy $8,000. But he also plants doubts in Peter's mind as to why he's involved with Zooey at all. When Peter foolishly expresses the same doubts to Zooey directly, she leaves him to stay with her girlfriends. Peter has had enough, dumps Sydney and makes up with Zooey. Meanwhile, Sydney uses the $8,000 to buy billboard space, promoting Peter as a hot shot realtor. All's well that end's well when Sydney's efforts lead to a great amount of new business for Peter while Zooey ends up calling Sydney at the last minute to attend their wedding as Peter's best man.
'I love you, man' loses its comic edge when Peter and Sydney get real serious and break up. The sentimental ending could have been much improved, had the film's scenarists decided to have Peter's life unravel more intensely than merely depicting the short breakup between him and Zooey. One alternative could have been to have Peter lose his job and then being saved after Sydney's billboard plan is brought to fruition.
In the end, I wondered why some of the film's foul language couldn't have been toned down a bit. What's more, jokes such as likening Anwar Sadat to a dog can be interpreted as a true insult in the Muslim World. While not a laugh out loud farce, 'Man' has its moments of mirth.