directed by John Hamburg
starring Paul Rudd, Jason Segel and Rashida Jones
Colloquialisms like "bromance" and "mancrush" have become increasingly popular in the last year or two, as America slowly breaks down taboos of what's considered "gay" between male friends and what's simply heterosexually intimate. I Now Pronounced You Chuck & Larry explored the line between homosexual and heterosexual male behavior, albeit offensively (or so they say), whereas John Hamburg's film simply skirts the line without really attempting to comment on the underlying subject (Andy Samberg has a small role as Rudd's gay brother, but really only exists to show him how easy it is to meet men).
Working off a script co-written by Larry Levin (Dr. Dolittle 1 & 2) and Hamburg (Zoolander, Meet the Parents), Rudd and Segel are both at their best. While the script is expectedly average (Judd Apatow is not involved), what's surprising is how quiet much of the humor is. It's fascinatingly awkward for a bit, and then just odd after an hour. It's difficult to tell whether Hamburg is simply confused in his direction of these scenes or not, but some "jokes" are presented as a strange comic realism (when the film begins to betray this relative realism, though, as in a ridiculous vomit projectile scene, its disappointing).
The funny jokes are funny, though, and the film is unmistakably at its best when Rudd and Segel are together. Rudd is endless watchable as an awkward real estate agent (like James McAvoy's character in Wanted, consciously spewing Diablo Cody dialogue), and Jason Segel plays the confident alpha male with ease, shedding the desperation of his character in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Although the two have much better exchanged in this film than Sarah Marshall, the weak scripting and Hamburg's bland direction (the most ambitious thing he does with the mise-en-scene is associate Jones' character with the color yellow rather incessantly) make it much less rewarding. It's a film that's certainly worth seeing (if you are generally a fan of Rudd/Segel), but won't lose much when its shown on cable in a few years.
6.5
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