I unconditionally love Paul Rudd so I saw I Love You, Man, which only made me laugh three times and mildly amused me throughout the rest of the proceedings. How can a person be so endearing that you still think that this person is good at their job in spite of appearing in a number of bad movies with the exception of Marvel movies, of course? Apparently all of us just decided that Rudd was cool. I’m not entirely sure how it happened, but it did. Although I’m a highly critical person, I see no reason to budge yet. Even time likes him, or he is passing.
I Love You, Man stars Paul Rudd as Peter, a real estate agent, who gets engaged to Rashida Jones then suddenly realizes that he has no male friends outside of his family so to fill up his side of the aisle on their wedding day, he goes on a dating style quest to find the right man. He meets Sydney. Siegel made a favorable impression in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Sydney is the best part of the film. Will Peter’s new friendship turn his life upside down?
I don’t think that I entirely bought into the premise of I Love You, Man even though I know plenty of men who prefer to be friends with women than men. I think that I’m just tired of the old reliable gender norm jokes that there is something wrong with Peter for not acting like the average gender normative guy, and he essentially needs a masculinity makeover to make it in business.
I Love You, Man also implies that even though his fiancée is the one that was concerned and thought that he needed friends, she is most disturbed by Peter’s friendship. How did she not notice his neediness before the proposal? She had friends so why wouldn’t she notice that she couldn’t get away from him and be alone with them before the engagement. If she didn’t notice before, she should never start because planning a wedding is a busy time that throws a couple together even more, but she does because the movie is using her as a symbol. She represents the stereotype of feminine suspicion and policing of male behavior, i.e. the film is setting up a mild battle of the sexes and for us to root for the guys. She becomes the nag. I know that a movie needs some conflict in order to have momentum, but the nag is the most tiresome role to offer any actor. Jones may be innately affable, but her roles are generally underwritten girlfriend types, which is disappointing. I would like to see her in something different.
I Love You, Man relies on the main conflict to make Peter choose between his friend and his fiancé. In this case, it is ridiculous since he just met Sydney. If having a friend threatens your long-term romantic relationship, then your relationship was never a good one. I know that movies since the dawn of time have used the trope of endangering a relationship to build tension in a movie, but I’m too old to buy it now. It is just dumb. If you don’t know why you’re in a relationship or who you are, that relationship is going to fail even if you’re perfect yet I’m supposed to be happy at the ending. When does the sequel come out? I already know what it is about. It takes place after Peter gets divorced and stays in Sydney’s guest room?
I also think there is a slight difference between depicting women’s friendships and still being astonished that women friendships can *gasp* resemble male friendships. I Love You, Man leans on hacky material to elicit laughs, which explains why it takes awhile to build momentum. Another contributing factor for the film failing to hit the ground running is that it takes so long to get Sydney on screen so we can appreciate him as much as Peter does.
I’m also tired of comedies such as I Love You, Man creating a gay character just so they can have a defense against criticism of using the same old gay jokes because the gay character says them. Also Andy Samberg, really? I’m not slandering Samberg, but the casting director couldn’t find one gay comedian actor? Not a single one. Was there at least a single gay person on the writing team? I know that a big part of making movies is getting to work with people that you like and are familiar with so I’m at least hoping that all those working friends aren’t heterosexual. To be fair, it was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for “Outstanding Film-Wide Release” so what do I know? (To be fair, it was for a scene based on a misunderstanding and was funny.)
So what does work about I Love You, Man? The cast! Good will towards most of the cast members really carries the movie. Jaime Pressly is America’s Margot Robbie, but because she is funny and has an American accent, no one noticed. She should really get more work, but maybe she is happy with her comedic career. One of the three LOL moments was when Peter hangs out with her on screen husband, who is played by Jon Favreau, a great director and another affable actor. Comedy legend Jane Curtin plays Peter’s mom, and the versatile J.K. Simmons plays Peter’s dad. Rob Huebel is a staple because he doesn’t even have to talk, and he immediately nails the smarmy work rival role. Siegel also succeeds at walking the line between being normal, suave enough to assuage any concerns, but you would still have some concerns about him because he does not have a normal adult day. Once he hits the screen, it basically makes all the scenes hit the way that they were intended. I did laugh at the toast and the way that he tried to help Peter get more clients. Side note: how is that a wedding present? Wedding presents should be geared towards the couple, not your friend.
I Love You, Man’s cameo works even better over time especially considering the trajectory of Rudd’s career. I won’t ruin it, but if you have ears, you can’t miss it, and yes, you’ll see that often referenced person before the movie’s end. Maybe I’m a philistine, but I’m not referring to Rush, and I still don’t know her.
If you like the cast, then check out I Love You, Man, but if you want to laugh and enjoy a real male friendship, check out Edgar Wright’s finest selection of comedies featuring Nick Frost and Simon Pegg such as Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz. Or if you’re a guy, hang out with your friends instead.