I Love You Man...Well...Kinda

A Lesson In How To Uncomfortably Say Goodbye

I figured during these summer blockbusters, with robots falling out of the sky and man travelling back in time and exploding space demons with lasers, some may want to be in a theater that is not stuffed to the gills with people craving to be in-the-know with the most recent movie of the week.  Well, there is another movie of the week out there for you if you are willing to open your mind to the intricacies of 'same-sex hetero-dating'.

What is it about 'these kinds' of movies?  Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Role Models, even the much beloved Grandma's Boy, all of these movies always have 'something good in them', but always feeling terribly unbalanced as far as the aim of the movie.  Is it a comedic, drama of a man's exploration into making a serious step into adulthood?  Or are movies like this just a sophomoric attempt at making fun of a topic that is actually something worth discussing?

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The best thing about I Love You Man would be that it comes from a very honest place.  It actually talks about something that many 'semi-adults' have issues with once they graduate college and get involved in their career.  The story is centered around how to make 'man-dates'.  How does a man with a fiancé, make new friends? Enter Paul Rudd's character Peter Klaven, a soon-to-be-married to Rashida Jones's character Zooey.  I Love You Man is chock full of this generation's current who's who of funny people.  Adam Sandberg plays Paul Rudd's younger, gay brother.  Jon Favreau plays the alpha-husband to Jamie Pressly's character who is the sister of Zooey. 

The movie is funny, not hilarious, but funny.  There was not as many low-brow jokes as one would expect from seeing Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  A nod to the wit within the words would have to go to the director/co-writer John Hamburg. When Paul Rudd comes to the realization that his wife's friends see him in a 'weird light' and you see the reaction on his face...it really is something quite genuine.  As my girlfriend would state, Paul Rudd just can't help but be 'the cute guy'.  This honest, approachable character he plays does show a certain relatiblity, but sometimes homeboy can be a little too awkward for words.  To the point of some jokes dragging on a tad too long.

Rudd's counterpart and hopeful 'BFF' is played by Jason Segel. A semi-happy, semi-employed aloof named Sydney Fife.  A mature Dumb & Dumber relationship kicks off between the two.  Something that needs acknowledging, up until this recent wave of 'wedding movies' it would be very rare to see two men acting in a kind of 'naturalistic' fashion.  It is quite common to see a movie starring two men, where they are hunting down a bad guy or in someone trying to trick a woman into liking them...not the case in I Love You Man.

The only downside would be that there are some sophomoric moments. You get your occasional fart joke. I believe there is even a puke take, but it is not of the crass poop-take of the "Zack & Miri" nature.  The movie does feel long.  However great a movie is, especially a comedy, why do they feel like film-pacing failures?  Excuse my Neanderthalic , male brain, but would it have killed them to either trimmed off some of the 'blah-blah' or throw in a car explosion?  The movie wraps up in a nice little bow that women will swoon over and even the guys will find it funny...probably that they are finding it funny.

I Love You Man Get's the Meterosexual Award...

Mandals...Yeeech!