Writer: Lai Swee Wei

Writer Ratings:
Overall: 2.0 Out of 5
Cast: 3.0 Out of 5
Plot: 2.0 Out of 5
Effects: 0.0 Out of 5
Cinematography: 2.5 Out of 5

Watch this if you liked: “Along Came Polly”

After appearing in several films together such as "Knocked Up" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," Paul Rudd and Jason Segel reunite to play two men who grow close with each other to an extent that borders on homosexuality - but of course, it's all just for laughs and we know this isn't true.

Story-wise, "I Love You, Man" remains passable. Judging by the trailer, it never really sparked an interest in the movie, only sadness for the character Peter played by Paul Rudd who tries hard to be friends with the guys. On the whole, it didn't seem worth the watch. It delivered nothing but plain lame humour. For example, the boys say goodbye to each other by referring to the other as Dude von Dudenstein or Totes Magotes, sometimes even resorting to reggae wannabe accents that often turn out Irish. Fortunately, there was one or two laugh-out-loud moments.

The story opens up with Peter Klaven proposing to his girlfriend of eight years, only to realise that he doesn't have anyone to be his best man. He has always been comfortable with the opposite sex, so in order to overcome his problem, he goes on numerous "man dates" (often leading him into awkward situations). With gay brother Robby (Andy Samberg) and fiancee Zooey (Rashida Jones) on his side, they help him set up a series of man dates to help him find his best man.

In the process of his man hunt, awkward comedy ensues. But he finally meets his "match" when the free-spirited Sydney Fife (Jason Segal) crashes his open house. Soon the two are spending quality time together drawing extrovert Peter out of his shy shell. Unavoidably, Peter's relationship with Zooey begins to suffer because of all of the attention he is spending with his new friend.

You can honestly feel Peter's despair when he tries hard to be friendly and macho-like to Sydney. What with all those weird stammers and sentence constructions, he comes across as dimwitted as the stereotype surfer dude. But on the other hand, Paul Rudd and Jason Segel formed a decent duo who stuck by each other regardless of the ups and downs. As the story goes, with every friendship, there's always that one person who must put their dignity away to do what's right in their hearts. Sounds mushy, but it does have a nice lesson to it, even though those two may have just only met each other.


Cinema Online, 18 May 2009