Surprisingly easy to love, easier still to laugh at

Rating: 8/10 (5 May 2009)

A comedy about romance, friendship and social awkwardness - on the surface, I Love You, Man would appear to be just another inane entry into the annals of modern comedy, without a spark of originality, right down to its poster mirroring previous teen smash Superbad's shot of both friends staring cluelessly out at its audience. If anything, such a tendency for immediate dismissal proves testament to the "don't judge a book by its cover" cliché, as I Love You, Man manages to consistently remain several steps ahead of the sort of film one would be inclined to ignore it as. Despite it seemingly unimaginative premise, the film manages to be both surprisingly insightful (while many such bawdy, Judd Apatow style comedies address issues of masculinity, few tap into the unwritten "rules" and inherent difficult in going out to find male friends) and far more outrageously funny than it had any right to be.
Part of the film's appeal is its ingenious melding of the realistic and comically fantastic. Actors are given the chance to improvise and riff one liners off each other without descending into levels of out of control hysteria (a-la Will Ferrell) while simultaneously retaining a welcome credibility and honesty to their approach. The situation of a soon to be groom finding himself without prospects for a best man going out to meet male friends is highly plausible and ripe with comedic potential, and director John Hamburg toes a careful line of exploiting the humour of the situation without reducing his protagonist to a melancholic sad sack, as in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. And the film proves refreshingly sensitive to countless problematic factors in most mainstream comedies, complete with supporting characters given just enough moments to shine hilariously while avoiding caricature (the 'desperate single girl', 'bickering married couple' and 'gay comic relief' figures are seldom so down to earth and believable) and never overshadowing the story itself.
In fact, there is only one main common pitfall the film succumbs to - an unfortunate trend in many such buddy bonding comedies (Wedding Crashers, Superbad, etc.) is the unfortunate third act lull, where, seemingly in an attempt to insert pathos and dramatic weight to the otherwise silly story, conflict ensues and the friends have a falling out. However, for almost every such instance, rather than creating the intended more balanced feel to the story, such interludes often forcibly jerk the viewer out of the mood, removing them from the engrossing, flat out silliness, and resulting in them critiquing the inevitably inferior dramatic content and lessening their overall enjoyment of the film. I Love You, Man's interplay with this narrative trend proves to be both a blessing and a curse, as the inevitable parting of ways of the buddy protagonists seems much more forced and unnecessary to the story than in other such films, but, mercifully, it also lasts nowhere near as long, as if Hamburg is wise enough to play to his strengths and keep the tone light and frivolous throughout.
Of course in such character driven comedies the cast always serves to either make or break the film, and thankfully the enormously talented collection of players do not disappoint. Perpetual supporting player Paul Rudd is finally promoted to the sort of leading man role he previously sorely lacked, and proves all the better for it as predominantly female friendly soon to be married lead. Apart from being one of the most inherently likable actors working in the film industry, Rudd's sublime comedic timing, moments of awkward goofiness (expect to be quoting many of his fumbled attempts at hip nicknames for months to come) and quiet, measured moments of pathos manage to create one of the most balanced, credible and enormously charismatic lead performers in modern comedy. Paired with Rudd, Jason Segel also demonstrates his strongest work to date, consistently hilarious as a straight talking, brash, eccentric would be womaniser with a heart of gold, and the down to earth chemistry shared by the two makes the film shine. In a predominantly male dominated genre, Rashida Jones also proves refreshingly credible and charming as Rudd's fiancé rather than the usual shrill feminine cartoon such films would offer. The film's supporting cast is also a triumph, with scene stealing Iron Man director Jon Favreau and Jaime Pressly flat out hysterical as a constantly fighting married couple, J.K. Simmons hilariously understated as Rudd's father, Andy Samberg making strong use of limited screen time as Rudd's seduction expert gay brother, and former Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferringo hilariously riffing on his own strong man image as himself.
While its unfortunate pre-climax lull prevents I Love You, Man from being the flat out comedic triumph it could have been, the film's masterful blending of romantic comedy tropes, buddy comedy enthusiasm and refreshing, down to earth honesty make it one to remember, easily outshining the vast majority of similar predecessors. Any fans of the stars or similar quirky yet bawdy comedies should consider the film near essential viewing - despite initial skepticism, the result is almost certain to entertain.
-8/10