I rarely give a comedy such a high rating...

Rating: 9/10 (13 March 2011)

I have always enjoyed comedies, but I have seen so few truly funny movies of late. Today's funny movies generally consist of over-vulgar language and humiliation, this movie was not like this. 9 out of 10 stars from me, as it delivered more than I expected, and from top to bottom it was a funny and enjoyable film on many fronts.
First of all I will say this, if this was a supposed romantic-comedy it was far more weighted on the comedy than the romance, which is important to know if you are like me and not a fan of romantic-comedies in general. I was worried that this movie would be heavy on the romance, which almost always turns a potentially good comedy into something cheesy. I want to see such movies to laugh, not for the watered down romance storyline; this movie didn't go down that forgettable route as so many other potentially funny movies have.
On this note, there is some romance, but even though you knew where it was going at some point, it remained fresh and even hilarious at times, as the jokes kept coming and there wasn't a 30 minute lull in the movie to fulfill the mandatory boy-meets-girl part of the script.
Everyone in the movie did an exceptional job acting, including the kids in the film, and some actors took some risks for the sake of being funny (i.e when Aniston in a bikini, Aniston and Kidman entering the dance contest etc). It was particularly enjoyable to see that the actors didn't take themselves seriously in the role, but they did take their acting seriously. Often times I watch a comedy and cringe at the weak commitment to the film, this was not the case here as they all seemed more natural and free flowing, getting full value out of the dialogue.
As has been mentioned on here, Nick Swardson seemed to take the reigns with being the central comic-relief character, relying on his antics to get the laughs, and for my money he succeeded.
There were about 3-4 scenes in which I absolutely lost myself in the theatre and everyone else was laughing just the same. If this is any indication of a good comedy, than this movie over exceeded expectations.