Rating: R
Starring:
Paul Rudd as Peter Klaven
Jason Segel as Sydney Fife
Rashida Jones as Zooey
Jaime Pressly as Denise
Jon Favreau as Barry
Sarah Burns as Hailey
Rob Heubel as Tevin Downey
Jane Curtin as Joyce Klaven
J.K. Simmons as Oswald Klaven
Andy Samberg as Robbie Klaven
Lou Ferrigno as Himself
Special Features:
Audio Commentary from the Directors
Behind the Scenes
Sounds of Delgo
Meet the Characters
Animated Short: Chroma Chamelon
6 Deleted Scenes
Other Info:
Widescreen (1.85:1)
True HD 5.1 Sound
Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound
French and Spanish Languages
Portuguese, French and Spanish Subtitles
Running Time: 100 Minutes
The Details:
The following is the official description of the film:
“In this wildly funny hit comedy, Paul Rudd (‘Knocked Up’) gets engaged to the girl of his dreams but has not a single guy friend to be his Best Man until he meets the ultimate dude, Jason Segel (‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’). Rudd and Segel’s “bro-mance” takes male-bonding to hilarious new heights that keep you laughing until the unforgettable last frame.”
“I Love You, Man” is rated R for pervasive language, including crude and sexual references.
The Movie:
Your enjoyment of “I Love You, Man” will depend largely on what you think of Paul Rudd. This is definitely his movie and it lives and dies by his performance. If you like his dry sense of humor, you’ll love this. If not, then you’re out of luck. Fortunately, I like the guy. He generally comes across as likable, he’s not afraid to make a fool of himself, and his improvisations help take otherwise boring moments to another level.
Your enjoyment of this movie will also depend largely on what you think of Jason Segal. I’m not a fan of his cruder or naked-er moments in various films… and there are a lot of them here… but there’s no denying he’s funny. Whether he’s picking a fight with Lou Ferrigno or playing Rush songs with Rudd, he generates some good laughs.
“I Love You, Man” has a strong supporting cast, too. It seems to have more TV stars than you can shake a stick at. Rashida Jones is Zooey, the lovable fiancée of Peter. A lot of comedies would try and portray her as a shrew in this story, but fortunately she’s a more realistic woman here. Jaime Pressly is Denise, one of her best friends. She’s paired with Jon Favreau who plays Barry, her cranky husband. The two have a lot of funny moments as they bicker back and forth. It makes you wonder why Peter and Zooey would even want to get married after seeing their example. Then you have Jane Curtin as Joyce Klaven, J.K. Simmons as Oswald Klaven, and Andy Samberg as Robbie Klaven (the token gay comedic relief). And how can you ignore Lou Ferrigno. How they zeroed in on him for a starring role I’ll never know, but he seems more than up for the Hulk jokes.
One thing that surprised me was the raunch factor in the movie. Despite the R rating, the commercials and cute DVD covers make it seem like this is yet another light comedy. But not 5 minutes into the film it thoroughly earns its rating… and without the benefit of nudity! Between the frank sexual dialogue of the girlfriends and Sydney’s candid discussions, it’s more than enough to make you say, “Ugh.” It’s to the point where it seems they’re trying a bit too hard and it is a turn off.
If you can get past the cruder moments, you should find “I Love You, Man” to be an amusing twist on the traditional romantic comedy. It’s a great idea for a story and I’m surprised nobody has tackled it sooner.
The Blu-ray has your usual DVD offerings – deleted scenes, audio commentary, a gag reel, and a ‘making of’ featurette. There’s also a featurette showing a batch of “Klavenisms” by Rudd.
