I gotta say, I laughed my fucking ass off through most of the movie. Jason Siegel and Paul Rudd really have earned their place as comedic rising stars. And they actually CAN act, as witness the fact that in the various projects I've seen each of these guys in, they are noticeably different people, even down to body language.
The movie IS hilarious, but it's also actually pretty damned original, which is no small thing in this day and age of endless adaptations, remakes and revamps. Not that those are all bad, but it's kinda nice to see something that really hasn't been done before.
If you've seen the trailers, you know what the movie is about. But I was pleasantly surprised that the trailer really can't replace the movie (as is often the case, particularly with comedies: they put the best stuff in the trailer; the rest is just filler). In this case, the trailer really just tells you the plot, in the broadest of broad strokes. It does not convey the impressively nuanced characters, nor does it destroy the best jokes.
In case you've been living under a rock (or in North Carolina), I Love You, Man is about Peter, a dude who never had a male best friend -- he always found himself closer to women. Which was never a problem until he pops the question and suddenly finds himself in need of a Best Man.
So, in typical movie fashion, our boy forays out into the world of "Man-Dates" and internet connections, in search of bromance. As to be expected, hilarity ensues through a series of mismatches (some thoroughly disastrous). But obviously he finds eventually finds a kindred soul of sorts, in the form of Sidney (Jason Siegel) and that's where the real fun begins.
I'm not going to spoil any of the jokes -- and honestly I'm not sure I could. A lot of it is situational/character-driven humor (I had to bite my hand hard, repeatedly, to keep from yelling at the poor fool to stop trying to be cool, dude -- it ain't working) rather than any form of slapstick, sarcasm or witty one-liners, which is also kind of refreshing.
As said, Rudd and Siegel do an excellent job filling out their roles, making their characters believable and relatable. Somewhat less impressive was Zooey, played by The Office's Rashida Jones. Now don't get me wrong, this woman is gorgeous in a very down to earth way and I love seeing her. And I don't think her acting ability is to blame. But her character didn't seem to connect with me. She seemed predictable and flat, even as her mysteriously Technicolor bronze skin tone leapt from the screen and tried to stab my eyes.
Whoever was in charge of the overall color scheme around that poor girl should be tied naked to a chair at the end of the Santa Monica Pier, liberally coated in breadcrumbs and fish guts. You don't give an olive complected girl nothing but yellow. Yellow light, yellow walls, yellow shirt -- it looks fucking weird, like she's the love child of Doc Savage and Jill Masterson (the girl who died in Goldfinger).
Anyway, the fact that that is my biggest complaint about the movie says a lot, I think. Well, not really, because I don't complain much about movies. But I really did like this one, for a lot of reasons. If you want a good solid couple hours of laughs and feel-good shit, check this one out.
Oh, word to the wise: There are extra scenes during the credits that are well worth staying for.
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