I Love You, Man (2009)

Release Date: 2009

Director: John Hamburg
Starring: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, J.K. Simmons, Andy Samberg
Tagline: "Are You Man Enough to Say It?"
Random Trivia: J.K. Simmons character Oswald was named after the HBO prison drama he previously starred in, the absolutely awesome "Oz." Rashida Jones is a Harvard grad.

I do not love you, man. And just who the fuck coined the term Bromance, and where do I line up to beat them with a sack of oranges?

I know HalfBaked is going to vehemently disagree with me, but I Love You, Man bored me to death, and that's saying something considering the comedy-friendly state I was in. The very comedy friendly state.

Look, it has its moments, including a crapload of Rush references which, as a Canuck, I appreciated - but there were far too many "lets make something so cringe-worthy and awkward that people will laugh" scenes. That's not comedy. I shouldn't laugh because something is awkward or embarrassing in a forced way. Comedy should be natural; laughter should be an instantaneous gut reaction.

I tend to lecture a lot in my reviews so I'm going to skip to the chase in this one:

Paul Rudd is Peter Klaven, real estate agent, engaged to marry the girl of his dreams and apparently either a huge loser or completely dedicated to his work, since he lacks a single male friend to serve as his best man. The obvious choice here would be his openly gay brother Robbie (Andy Samberg), who takes pride in hitting on straight guys working out at the gym where he works as a trainer. Robbie is the apple of his father's (J. K. Simmons) eye, because he still comes off as more manly than Peter - and he's also one of the only funny characters in the film.

Of course, if Peter went with this option, there would be no film. Instead, he opts to try a man-date with a guy who fingers him as gay, a disastrous night out with his brother-in-law, and finally, a random encounter with Sydney Fife (Jason Segel) - who showed up to Peter's open house for the free food. Sydney is the world's oldest boy, a Rush-loving, zany man-child that guys are supposed to identify with. About the only telling character moment comes when we see Sydney's other friends - who have all grown into married with children weekend warriors, leaving Sydney disconnected and alone.

Syd and Pete hit it off, and proceed to spend half the movie jamming out to Rush tunes (and at one point, seeing the band live - kudos for the cameo, gotta love Giddy Lee). Then the completely predictable plot kicks in: Sydney rubs Peter's fiancee Zooey (Rashida Jones) the wrong way, becomes an embarrassment, gives a horrible speech at a pre-wedding party, but turns up in time for the wedding with Zooey's blessing. And we all live happily ever after. Bleh.

The gags in this puppy are really hit and miss: Projectile vomiting, Sydney acting crazy, and his attempt to help out Peter's career by borrowing money off Pete and spending it on billboards promoting him as an over-the-top, zany real estate agent - the property moving version of Sydney himself basically. I probably laughed a half-dozen times in the movie at best.

There's also a side-plot with Peter trying to selling Lou "The Hulk" Ferrigno's mansion, notable because it's the second Fully Baked Review in a row where Ferrigno gets a mention.

I will say this: I Love You, Man was probably not helped by the fact that I saw the awesomeness that is Star Trek just before it. But that's about all I can say. Seriously, they should just make a movie about Robbie, because Samberg is actually fucking funny, and you could mess around a lot with the premise of him corrupting straight guys. Probably too contreversial and all, but at least it wouldn't be predictable.

Overall rating: 1/4 Baked (2 out of 5)