I LOVE YOU, MAN

                 Writer and director of Along Came Polly, John Hamburg brings us another romantic comedy, but this time it’s a relationship between two men or a bromance. Surprisingly, the title was initially something far less creative than I Love You, Man.  Let’s Make Friends was the screenplay’s original brainless title, which if kept would have dropped my expectations immediately. I Love You, Man has its moments, but doesn’t come close to being a smart screenplay.

       I Love You, Man stars Paul Rudd as Peter Klaven, a real estate agent who just asked his girlfriend Zooey (Rashida Jones) to marry him. After the engagement, preparations for the wedding begin, and Peter realizes he’s never really had a group of guy friends or even a best friend. In the past, he always dedicated his time to girlfriends and never really needed a man in his life until now. In hopes of finding a best friend and filling up his side of the wedding party, Peter goes to his gay brother, Robbie (SNL’s Andy Samberg), for help.

       Robbie is a personal trainer at a local gym. Considering his gay status, he has no problem picking up men, even straight ones. Robbie hooks Peter up with a few of his trainees from the gym, promising them free sessions if they go on a man-date with Peter. The dates go horribly wrong and even confuse some guys into thinking Peter is gay. When all hope appears to be lost, Sydney Fife (Jason Segel) shows up at one of Peter’s open houses. Sydney is a carefree, opinionated investor who admits he only came for the free food and to pick up some divorcees. Peter and Sydney end up hitting it off and exchange business cards. A guy’s night of beer, fish tacos, and good conversation sets the two up for future male bonding, and Peter with a potential best man.

       Director John Hamburg is known for his writing in the genre of comedy as he also wrote Meet the Parents and Zoolander. And his co-writer of I Love You, Man, Larry Levin, has written numerous episodes for Seinfeld, as well as Doctor Dolittle 1 &2. With that kind of talent working together, you would expect a hilarious and smart screenplay. Unfortunately, I found myself checking my watch and thinking of ways this film could have been better.

       Some scenes seemed to go on way too long, and would have been funnier if cut short or edited out. The jokes often went into overkill and made the story drag rather than moving it forward and keeping pace. More conflict and a clear subplot would have kept the viewers interest a lot more than senseless scenes with annoying characters such as Zooey’s girlfriends, Hailey and Denise. Peter’s father, Oswald (J.K. Simmons), is one of the story’s most entertaining characters, but Hamburg and Levin barely use him. A subplot with his father would have been appropriate considering Oswald’s strong relationship with his other son and lack of one with Peter. The opportunity for this storyline was introduced but never expanded on.

       The comedy’s failure to deliver laughs was not due to poor acting. Paul Rudd and Jason Segel’s acting is the glue to this puzzle with missing pieces. Their onscreen bromance is highly believable and the chemistry for a great relationship is there. But, their characters are underdeveloped and incomplete as they just room around Los Angeles like talking heads with weird jokes that appear forced and out of place.

       Jason Segel is funny even when he’s not saying anything. His awkward physical build and facial features always seem to emphasize the characters the plays. Despite Segel’s natural talent, Sydney Fife hasn’t strayed far from the character Segel played in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Fife lacks conflict and we don’t even learn what he does for a living until the last 5 minutes of the movie.

      The film’s best moments come from Rudd’s acting. It wasn’t what he was saying, but rather his performance that was entertaining. When he’s introducing Zooey to the song “Tom Sawyer” by Rush, he plays the air guitar too high and keeps repeating “I slap some base.” -which doesn’t sound like it would be funny, but is my point exactly. If anything, Rudd’s performance is what saves this film.

            The writers rely too heavily on the premise and funny nature of the actors. They fail to expand on numerous presented themes such as father son relationship, male identity, male friendships with women, and even true friendship, which is suppose to be the core of the film. Editor William Kerr should be fired. I Love You, Man is full of deleted scenes never deleted. I might have to buy the DVD to see if the actual deleted scenes -“Special Features”- can get any worse.