I Rather Like It, Man

This afternoon, I saw the new comedy "I Love You, Man." It stars Paul Rudd as a newly engaged man who, having found the woman he wants to spend his life with, embarks on a quest to find a "bro" the fill the best friend (and best man) void in his life.

The cast includes a "deep bench" of funny people including Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Jon Favreau, Jaime Pressly, Andy Samberg, J.K. Simmons, and Jane Curtin. And while they all bring the laughs, it's really Paul Rudd who makes the movie. The story hangs on the premise that his character is too awkward to have every formed any lasting guy friendships. And he pulls it off perfectly. There are so many funny, "oh stop talking now" moments, you sometimes feel like you're watching skin-crawling British comedy like The Office. And that's all Paul Rudd's skill.

But there's also good romance (and bro-mance) comedy, slapstick (including the best use of CG vomit that I expect film will ever see), and thankfully, a minimal amount of sentiment -- which movies like this often seem to have in excess.

Though while the movie is funny, it's not the kind of "can't breathe funny" that a comedy has to achieve for it to get the highest marks from me. I certainly recommend seeing it, but I don't think it's the sort of thing that would hold up well enough for me to want to see it again. (Also a rare thing for a comedy, in my book.) I rate it a B+.