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I Love You, Man
R1 - America - Paramount Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Ethan C. Stevenson (8th August 2009). |
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The Film
 Romantic comedy is a genre that, despite being a vile, putrid pit of despair, lives on quite strongly in our cinemas today. It seems to me that if a film isn’t a Jerry Bruckheimer explosion-fest it is undoubtedly a romantic comedy and I hate (uninspired) romanticism, let alone “comedic” romance. It’s brain-dead movie making and frankly I would rather spend my time elsewhere. This is, of course, an extreme exaggeration – hyperbole at it’s finest – in fact, my next three reviews: a dramatic true-life story, a conspiracy thriller and what Roger Ebert calls "the best sci-fi film of the decade" ("Knowing" (2009)), seem to disprove my statement that all movies are either action films by Michael Bay or romantic comedies. And, to be fair, not all romantic comedy is vile, evil and/or bad – sometimes it can be quite good, such as the recently released "(500) Days of Summer" (2009)... But, I digress… and the above works well as an intro. So then, I take much solace in a film that turns a genre, populated with plots that involve Renée Zellweger bumbling her way across the screen to be swept off her feet, on its head. "I Love You, Man" is one such film. The plot is (probably) not all that far from a rom-com starring Renée Zellweger or Jennifer Aniston, but there is a twist – "I Love You, Man" is, at its center, the love story of two straight men who spawn a “bromance”. The vehicle, as a bromantic comedy, then is fresh only because of this slight difference. Many of the other story elements are identical to what you would find in your regular, dull rom-com film – the first meeting on which our main character has an instant attraction to the "love interest" (this is a loose connection; the two men seek no romantic love from each other – only a deep, meaningful friendship), the awkward first "date", and, of course, the required "break-up" for the scripts complication (spoiler alert: they get back together in the end: seriously, this movie fits the genre to a tee). But, despite being somewhat formulaic in nature, the film still feels unique and new simply because the tables are turned and "I Love You, Man" is, because of the twist, not the same type of film in the slightest. The plot: Peter (Paul Rudd) just proposed to his girlfriend. It isn’t until the couple is making calls to family and friends that Pete’s fiancé, Zooey (Rashida Jones), has a startling revelation; Peter has no friends. As a loveable but quiet, meager individual, Peter has always been intensely focused on his girlfriends and, as a result, never really had the time to make guy-friends. In fact, save for his family and Zooey, his only "friends" are Tevin Downey (Rob Huebel), a hot-shot real estate agent and office jerk who he doesn’t really like at all and some guys that Pete fences with on Saturday, which, it turns out, he never really talks to. So, there is a dilemma: while Zooey will have loads of family and friends on her side at the wedding, the groom will have, aside from his 3 closest relatives, no one. Peter’s brother, Robbie (Andy Sandberg), puts a plan in action to set him up with some guys in the hope to find bodies to fill seats, and, much more importantly, find Pete a few friends. Eventually, about 30 minutes in, after some disastrous "dates" at the hands of his Mother (Jane Curtin) and Brother, Peter meets Sydney (Jason Siegel), an easy going, and fun loving dude. The two hit it off immediately and, soon, hilarity ensues. The film is extremely likeable with well-developed and believable characters in the two leads. Rudd and Siegel are good friends in real life and their off-screen relationship translates perfectly into the friendship these two characters form later in the film. The supporting cast is just wonderful, J.K. Simmons plays Oz Klaven, Peter’s father. Jamie Pressly and in a scene-stealing role, John Favreau, who at the time of filming was hot off the success of "Iron Man" (2008) (a film he directed), are Denise and Barry respectively, a constantly bickering couple and friends of Zooey’s. Thomas Lennon, as Doug, although only briefly in the film, is inspired in his scenes – his understated, “You’re a whore, Peter” had me, almost, in tears. And The Hulk himself, Lou Ferrigno plays, well, The Hulk himself, Lou Ferrigno. The film is imperfect; this is true (which is why I gave it a B: see score below). The script takes a dive into unnecessary territory by (spoiler alert) putting Peter and Zooey’s relationship in jeopardy – if only briefly – when a discussion between Peter and Sydney leaves the former questioning why, exactly, he is marrying this woman he has known for less than a year. Not a bad addition to the script – in fact, I think it works well on a level that Sydney is forcing Peter to back out of his marriage subconsciously because Sydney is afraid of losing a good friendship to that mistress known as matrimony. But, the fact is, this film doesn’t need two break-ups, as I mentioned above (again, spoiler alert) the bromance is ended at some point so that plot point is already covered. The futility of the break-up between the fiancé’s is only enhanced by the quick, almost immediate, reconciliation between Zooey and Peter. Perhaps his is actually a critique on the genre itself (and perhaps I am reading too much into it.)? My only other issue with the film comes in the form of Andy Sandberg’s Robbie. The character in itself is humorous enough as a gay man fed up with other gay men so he instead hunts straight guys in the hopes to "turn" them, you know, for the challenge, is mildly amusing: if only just. But my distaste for Sandberg as an actor left this as a low point in the film for me. The character had promise, surely, and in the hands of another actor it would have undoubtedly not caused me pause. It’s also nice that, for once, we have a comedy that, while embracing the confines of an “R” rating (unrestricting confines they may be; there are limitations believe it or not) doesn’t run away with gags to push the envelope. I can not tell you how refreshing it is to have one (and only one) version of the film available on home video; I tire of the numerous DVD's put out for most comedies that contain respectively: the "PG-13" cut, "R" rated cut, "Completely Unrated" and "Uncompromising" cut and a "Deluxe Edition" that contains all of those together. "I Love You, Man" shoots for the “R” and is done: perhaps a sign that this is a different kind of comedy, one that is both genuine and well put together.
Video
Presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, "I Love You, Man" has been opened up slightly from the films original 1.85:1 framing (standard operating procedure for Paramount/DreamWorks who do this on all films in the flat ratio) – regardless, the difference is negligible, and the image fills a 16x9 display without any letterbox bars. For a standard definition transfer this is fairly strong with bold colors, strong, supple contrast and some appreciable depth is present throughout. Visuals are perhaps above average for a comedy, but when compared to titles in other genres not particularly striking. Still, overall, this looks good. The direction and cinematography takes a naturalistic approach with one of the few stylized attributes to the film present in the form of blooming whites. There is an occasional softness to more romantic scenes as well (the wedding comes to mind specifically) but it’s hardly bothersome and not a fault of the DVD, rather, it seems, a creative choice by the crew. A down-conversion of the same master used for the concurrently released Blu-ray, the image remains free of any nefarious tinkering such as edge enhancement or digital noise reduction. And, compression is kept within tolerable levels for the DVD format, with no image breakup or over intrusive artifacts. Befitting of a new release, there’s no print damage to speak of.
Audio
Paramount offers 3 choices here, the standard English, French or Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, the mix by default is English, being the films original language, the best of those offered. Dialog, the bread and butter of any comedy film is clear and precise. Bass can, on occasion, be weighty – particularly when accompanying a musical backing, such as the Rush concert. Surround activity is sparse, with little going on in the rears for nearly the entire runtime, but stereo separation across the front of the stage is acceptable to excellent. In all "I Love You, Man" sounds, like almost any other comedy: decent but nothing to write home about. Subtitles are offered in English, French and Spanish.
Extras
Paramount/DreamWorks has included a reasonable (if admittedly unextraordinary) amount of supplements on the DVD of "I Love You, Man". All of the video based extras are presented in 16x9-enhanced widescreen. The extras include an audio commentary, a featurette, a series of deleted improvs and ad-libs, extended scenes, deleted scenes, a gag reel and bonus trailers. First up is an audio commentary with director John Hamburg and cast members Paul Rudd and Jason Siegel. This is an easy going, jovial and all around pleasant commentary with the participants seeming to have an amicable relationship. "The Making of I Love You, Man" is your standard behind-the-scenes featurette, running 17 minutes 30 seconds. It discusses the origins of the project, including a reworking of the script by director John Hamburg and dissections of their characters by Paul Rudd, Rashida Jones and Jason Siegel. Made up (mostly) of canned interviews and film clips, this has a strong EPK feel. Next up, a section simply titled "Extras" is really a collection of nine deleted improvs and ad-libs: - "Whole Bunch of Tongue": Peter and Zooey in bed discussing Pete’s man-kiss, which has left a smoky taste in his mouth. 1 minute 23 seconds. - "This is My Nightmare"; Jason Siegel tries on numerous variations of his response to being hit in the shin with a golf ball. 1 minute 35 seconds. - "Barry and Denise – America’s Sweethearts" is a 4 minutes and 5 seconds of Barry and Denise arguing with each other. - "Tevin Teaches Peter the Art of Selling Houses" is a collection of takes on this scene. 3 minutes 23 seconds. - "My Dinner With Doug"; a dinner scene that runs for 3 minutes 30 seconds. - "Riding Marlena"; various dialog exchanges between Peter and Sydney as they travel through town on the moped. 3 minutes 27 seconds. - "Klavenisms"; Paul Rudd tries different variations on the numerous uncool and out-of-date sayings that his character is famous for. 1 minute 45 seconds. - "Tevin Teaches Peter the Art of Sign Language"; pretty self explanatory runs 1 minute 52 seconds. - "City Slicka – Paul Rudd Tries to Get Through One Line"; a line flub that runs for 1 minute 22 seconds. Six extended scenes contains just what you would expect – extensions of scenes already cut into the film. These include: - "Ladies Night": Zooey and her friends discuss farting in yoga and (not Jeffrey) Dahmer. 1 minute 2 seconds. - "Engagement Dinner"; an embarrassing conversation at dinner turns Peter into a lyric quoting appeaser. 1 minute 37 seconds. - "Tuxedo Shopping" posing as James Bond leads Peter into Sydney’s jumping, rotating puppet. 2 minutes 10 seconds. - "The Grove": Peter asks Sydney to be his best man to which Sydney responds with a hug; Robbie and Oz Klaven watch the scene from afar as it turns exceedingly awkward and goes on far too long. Runs 52 seconds. - "Rush Concert": a full 4 minutes and 16 seconds are devoted to this extended concert performance. - "The Wedding": Sydney turns up at the wedding with a check for $8,000. The crowd murmurs, argues and talks with each other. Sydney and Peter extend their discussion. 2 minutes 44 seconds. Three deleted scenes include: - "The Lost Man Date": Peter plays rugby…. poorly. 52 seconds. - "Gay Bowling League Night": Peter and Robbie discuss Sydney while out with Robbie’s Gay Bowling League. 1 minute 14 seconds. - "Groomsmen Photo Session": Peter and his groomsmen pose for some odd photos. 1 minute 14 seconds. Gag reel is, well, as you would expect, a GAG REEL – can’t get much more in depth than that. Neither here nor there really, it is somewhat funny but hardly laugh out loud hilarious. And more often than not this is just a collection of people cussing at the camera for screwing up a line and slates clacking. At 11 minutes 26 seconds this get really repetitive, really fast. Pre-menu bonus trailers include: - Red band "Road Trip: Beer Pong" which runs for 1 minute 31 seconds. - "Star Trek" which runs for 2 minutes, 18 seconds. - "Dance Flick" which runs for 2 minutes, 28 seconds.
Overall
Funny, possibly underrated and a fine DVD to boot, I loved "I Love You, Man". Probably the best comedy of the year, I recommend this one wholeheartedly.
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