 |
| Courtesy of Universal |
Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller have proven to be quite the
creative team. They co-wrote the hilarious Forgetting Sarah Marshall (which
Segel starred in and Stoller directed) and last year's inspired update of The
Muppets (starring Segel again). While their latest collaboration, The
Five-Year Engagement, doesn't hit those levels of brilliance, the duo still
pulled off the near impossible: making a romantic comedy that’s sweet, funny
and doesn’t insult the viewer’s intelligence.
Segel plays Tom, an
aspiring chef who proposes to his beautiful girlfriend, Violet (Emily Blunt,
once again demonstrating strong comedic instincts), on their one-year
anniversary. Soon after, she gets a cushy postdoctoral position at the
University of Michigan and Tom agrees they can leave San Francisco behind to pursue
her dream. This puts their wedding plans on hold and forces Tom to turn down a
head chef position.
Michigan is heaven for
Violet, who connects with her brilliant professor (Rhys Ifans) and becomes fast
friends with some fellow grad students (Mindy Kaling, Kevin Hart and Randall
Park). That’s not the case for Tom, who has trouble finding work because he’s
overqualified. He eventually takes a low-stakes deli job and makes friends with
his boss (Brian Posehn) and another “faculty spouse” (Chris Parnell).
Back in San Francisco,
Tom’s friend (Chris Pratt) gets the promotion that should have been his. He
also marries Violet’s sister (Alison Brie) and the two quickly start a family.
Seeing someone else living the life he wanted starts to drive Tom a little
crazy, especially since he and Violet still can’t seem to get it together. As
the wedding keeps getting postponed, they start to wonder if they’re supposed
to be together at all.
Like most comedies
produced by Judd Apatow, The Five-Year Engagement runs about 25 minutes too
long and overuses improv. Overall though, I was impressed by Stoller’s
insistence on portraying a struggling relationship in a generally realistic
fashion. Granted, reality is heightened a bit and there are some comedic set
pieces that strain credulity. But compared to most modern romantic comedies,
it’s practically a documentary.
Segel and Blunt have
wonderful chemistry, but the movie wisely avoids making them too perfect.
They’re just flawed and stubborn enough to make you wonder if they’ll get the
happily ever after. The ensemble cast is fantastic too, playing characters
interesting enough to get their own spinoffs. Pratt and Brie are the standouts,
though the grad school folks, led by a droll and subdued Ifans, give them some
competition.
The film isn’t the
masterpiece I wanted it to be, but that’s admittedly an unrealistic expectation
on my part. Still, it’s the best date movie of the year (so far) and works as a
blueprint that future romantic comedies should emulate and improve upon.
The Five-Year Engagement is rated R
for sexual content and language throughout.
Grade: B
Comments
Post a Comment