I’m at one of those weddings. You know, where you don’t know the bride or groom very well, where the alcohol isn’t flowing and you’re not exactly sure why you were invited in the first place. And I didn’t bring a gift. Thankfully neither did anyone else.
My online colleagues and I have been invited to the set of the new DreamWorks comedy I Love You, Man, premiering January 16, 2009, and today is the day they’re shooting their final scene what seems to be the wee hours of a wedding. On a stage Paul Rudd and Jason Segel are singing Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” into a microphone that’s not on, accompanied by a bouncing Rashida Jones. Guests are bobbing up and down to the sound of nothing and Andy Samberg is trying to hit on Thomas Lennon. I told you, by way of weddings, this is a weird one. And still no wine.
I Love You, Man may at first glance look like the newest I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, but rest assured, it’s a movie about platonic love between two men. Paul Rudd’s character realizes as he’s about to get married that he has no male friends, and his fiancée, played by Rashida Jones, encourages him to find a best man. Rudd goes on a series of man-dates and, undoubtedly, hilarity ensues. After auditioning various candidates (read nutjobs), like high-voiced guy, he finally finds his best man in Jason Segel, which is why today the two of them are strumming their guitars, playing “I Want It Now!” fromWillie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory between takes, and hanging out with Grammy-winning OK Go, who are portraying the wedding band. As the day progresses and the guests linger in the wedding tent, we meet get this Lou Ferrigno, who wants to be on “Dancing With the Stars” next season. (Hear that ABC?) Making this probably the best fake wedding ever.
The fact that this scene is taking all day is clearly also taking a toll on Andy Samberg, since he throughout the day chooses to interrupt every interview taking place. Occasionally he will mark his presence simply by staring, prompting Rudd to shake his head in mock anger, “He’s such a media whore ” but for Segel he throws in a “You smell like potpourri” and “Jason, when you were over at my house, you yawned, and the wallpaper curled.” Is it any wonder that director John Hamburg (Along Came Polly) lets these guys ad lib all day? J.K. Simmons, who plays Rudd’s dad, tells us the improvising is the norm on this set as well as the highlight, “[The best part is] sitting around two different dinner tables for a total of, like, four days just blowing take after take because we were all just cracking each other up to much.” Oh dear, what would the Coen brothers say?
Hit the links below to read the interviews!
