I Love you, Man

Entertainment Weekly's website recently took a poll about Paul Rudd. Their thesis everyone loves Mr. Rudd. They were trying to find people who did not love him. By the end of the thing, only 6% of people said they did not love him. Rudd is just that likable actor. he does good movies and he does bad movies, but he is likable no matter what. He is funny, charming and giving as an actor and I just want to hang out with him. I am glad The Apatow Gang has adopted Rudd and given him his rightful place in American Comedy: The Bromance. If ever there was a dude that dudes would want to be best buds with it is Paul Rudd. It would make perfect sense for him to star in a movie about a best friend.

On a side note: I saw this movie on opening day at 11:00am. There were roughly 15 people in the theater and we were all guys sitting by ourselves, probably all wishing to be with our best friend.

Peter Klaven(Paul Rudd) has just popped the question and received the "Yes!" from his now fiance Zooey (Rashida Jones). The problem is, he has no one to tell. He does not have friends. At avery awkward and hilarious dinner, Peter's brother states that Peter was a girlfriend guy. After overhearing his fiance's friends worrying that Peter would be too clingy without any friends, Peter decides to get a best friend. he asks his gay brother(Andy Samburg) how to do it and what follows is a hilarious set of guidelines and an extremely funny dating montage. Peter has no luck on his man-dates, but at an Open House Peter is hosting to sell Lou Ferrigno's(Hulk on television) house, he meets a very cool and honest man named Sydney Fife(Jason Segal). The two become fast friends, bonding over fish tacos and beer. They share a love of the band Rush and spend their days in the Man Cave rocking out and being totally honest. Peter actually feels comfortable around Sydney which weirds him out and he is not sure how to react to it all. Zooey is not sure she likes Sydney because Peter starts ditching her to hang out with Sydney and Peter starts to question things he probably shouldn't.

The comedy in I Love you, Man comes from variety of places. First and foremost, Paul Rudd plays Peter as the most socially awkward person ever. Everything he says is an awkward attempt to be cool, from bad nicknames, to weird phone sign offs, Peter is a bundle of nerves. Rudd is amazing at this and makes Peter just pathetic enough that we feel bad, but not so pathetic it stops being funny. Segal, as Sydney, is out of the usual Segal role. Segal usually plays cry babies and when he shows up in this movie, it ignites with energy. Segal is super funny as the ultimate cool dude. he is chill, honest and very open with what he wants and what he thinks every guy wants. He takes risks and they often pay off. The cast is rounded out nicely with Samburg, J.K Simmons, Jane Curtain, Jaime Pressley, Jon Favreau and the aforementioned Jones. Everyone gets a chance for laughs, but Pressley and Favreau steal every scene as a married couple who seem to hate each other, but use it as a form of foreplay. Their snappy banter is always on point and keeps scene popping.

The second major comedy section comes from the conventional Romantic Comedy moments played for laughs because they are all about straight guys. Peter and Sydney have a MeetCute, Peter has a montage of bad dates and Peter and Sydney have a montage of awesome dates. The friendship causes a rift with the bride to be instead of the bride to be causing a rift in a friendship and there is even a wedding interuption. The whole thing cannot be an accident. It goes to show how much better Romantic Comedies would be if they were rated R and all featured straight guys doing Romantic Comedy style things. It also treats the women with respect. Zooey is a cool, smart and sexy girl and it is easy to see why Peter is in love with her. Jaime Pressley's Denise is a feisty sharp tongued minx who does not let her man walk all over her. These are not always common for Romantic Comedies, where women are often petty and whiny.

Explaining the funniest scenes (The dinner scenes) or reciting the best lines would not do the movie justice. You know what to expect going in and if that is your thing, you will be incredibly entertained. The movie is funny and touching and really makes having a best friend a very important thing in this world. Paul Rudd deserves to be a star and he and Segal have an unbelievably awesome chemistry (check out the Rush concert scene). There is a nice thought brewing in the movie, that to have a complete life, you need a wife, but you need a best friend to talk about things that you cannot say to your wife, because there are things that should not be said. If we could all be so lucky to have best friends like Paul Rudd and Jason Segal.

I also want to mention something that hopefully soon I will not have to mention anymore. Andy Samburg's character is gay, but he lacks the typical qualities given to homosexuals in film. In fact, he a dude's dude. he works out, drinks beer, likes sports and guy things. he just happens to like dudes. I wish the side plot of him searching for a straight guy friend to guy it up with was shown more because it is an interesting concept.

Final Grade: A