Entertains thoroughly with only a few minor drawbacks entwined.

Rating: Null/10 (26 September 2009)

Relationships can be tricky business and cinema has proved itself to be well aware of this all-too-true to life fact. The problem with the transition from reality to the big screen when it comes to relationships however is that it often makes the jump from platonic to sexual, or romantic without so much of a pause for anything otherwise. Yes, over the years there have been a ton of great buddy movies in which two people find a connection not through romantic love, but a bonding that is purely based on companionship; yet not very often do they deal with the sometimes awkward and conflicting areas involved with making the transition from acquaintance to friend that—although obviously not quite as stigmatic as romantic pairings because of typical social convention—sometimes transpires when people, who get desperate, start actively searching for a friend.
I Love You, Man, which sets about the better portion of its first half in dealing with this awkward bonding of two guys getting involved in a friendship, or bromance, breaks the mold a little and betrays cinematic convention. Here the guys (or guy) aren't portrayed as easy, cool and flippant about their buddies—rather, the feature makes ease of the friends' romantic interests on the flipside and dishes out the irregularities and pressures often associated with romantic bonding and tags them onto this relationship between two straight guys just looking for a buddy to hang with. The result is a charming, sweet and downright hilarious look at the buddy movie without much pretence to its makeup whatsoever; I Love You, Man even through its apt title establishes that it isn't scared to give a real sense of realism and honesty to its characters and their relationships and that's what makes it work so well.
Much of I Love You, Man's ability to reaffirm this constant stream of honesty lies in the performances of its lead stars and to a lesser extent, the minor cast members. Of course, it kind of goes without saying that if you're going to make a romantic comedy that also functions primarily as a buddy movie, you might want to get a few actors with chemistry that can convince the viewer of their bonds and the intertwined conflictions that are likely to ensue as a result of all this emotion and high-spirited discovery that's going on. Thankfully director John Hamburg has two extremely gifted comics who not only know how time a gag perfectly but who can also embody characters who you can actually believe in at the same time; here Paul Rudd and Jason Segel share some great scenes together that are hilarious (many of which come as a result of Rudd's unbearably bumbling and awkward nature contrasted against Segel's straight-guy persona) but most of all, tangible; I Love You, Man is a very funny movie, but it also makes no sacrifice—at least until the final five minutes—to any of the characters' integrity or believability.
As far as the romantic subplot of the movie goes which involves Rudd preparing to marry his fiancé played by Rashida Jones (The Office) whilst at the same time trying to sell off Lou Ferrigno's (The Hulk) condo—who, by the way, has some great scenes alongside both Rudd and Segel—being that much of the focus is drawn away from this element, it doesn't work as well as you might expect. Rudd and Jones have lukewarm romantic chemistry, yet there exists a nice rapport between the two that keeps the movie from getting stale. So for something that basically functions as a plot device in order to detail the coming together of the guys, the romance isn't that interesting but at least serves its purpose.
For all the good that I Love You, Man does on the basis of its buddy-comedy digressions and breaking-of-the-mold makeup however, there exists a kind of futility about the whole thing that stops it from ever truly taking off. While there are plenty of moments where Hamburg's feature comes off as refreshing and vibrant, there are others where the plot or characters meander in a void of rehashed ideas and jokes that don't flow quite as well as others. With that being said however, such instances as these are far and few between resulting in a movie that entertains thoroughly with only a few minor drawbacks entwined. Indeed, with some great performances, solid laughs throughout and a distinct tone of warmth and honesty throughout, I Love You, Man is definitely worth checking out if buddy movies are your thing, yet still crave something a little different and offbeat.

A review by Jamie Robert Ward (http://www.invocus.net)