~ I Love You, Man ~
I With a wealth of date films released over the last few months like Mamma Mia and Sex In The City it's great to finally see the up's and down's of male friendship being examined in John Hamburg's, funny and immediately likeable "homme-com" as Paul Rudd's easy going estate agent searches for a best man for his upcoming wedding.
Fresh off the success of Role Models we see the excellent Paul Rudd finally getting his chance to shine in a lead role as Peter Klaven, setting up and being set up on a series of man dates after he comes to realize that so much focus has been given to his relationships throughout his life that any man chums have been pushed aside.
Director John Hamburg has previous form with scripting the likes of Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers so it's no surprise that what we see here is a series of tongue-in-cheek humor and well observed takes on life and love. It has
It’s gross out scenes with the likes of projectile vomiting and awkward humor when one man date ends with a gay kiss but nothing ever feels designed just to get a laugh. The comedy moments only add to a warm and relatable script as Peter stops looking and finally finds a kindred spirit in Jason Segal's Sydney.
As the odd couple becomes closer and Peter starts to give in to a series of man chats covering the likes of sex, drugs and the big question on why he's getting married (intersected by some excellent jamming sessions by the way) the obvious divide in the somewhat uneven love triangle - if you count casually put aside fiancé Rashida Jones - starts to show.
Overall this is a constantly funny, if not always laugh out loud - to borrow a term being thrown around quite heavily - "bro-mantic" comedy which thanks to a strong supporting cast stands head and shoulders above other buddy movies. The female roles are evenly handled and never reduced to eye candy or the butt of testosterone fueled jokes which makes the film appealing to both sexes. A great date movie, you just have to decide on if you want to take the girlfriend or find yourself a man chum!
I With a wealth of date films released over the last few months like Mamma Mia and Sex In The City it's great to finally see the up's and down's of male friendship being examined in John Hamburg's, funny and immediately likeable "homme-com" as Paul Rudd's easy going estate agent searches for a best man for his upcoming wedding.
Fresh off the success of Role Models we see the excellent Paul Rudd finally getting his chance to shine in a lead role as Peter Klaven, setting up and being set up on a series of man dates after he comes to realize that so much focus has been given to his relationships throughout his life that any man chums have been pushed aside.
Director John Hamburg has previous form with scripting the likes of Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers so it's no surprise that what we see here is a series of tongue-in-cheek humor and well observed takes on life and love. It has
It’s gross out scenes with the likes of projectile vomiting and awkward humor when one man date ends with a gay kiss but nothing ever feels designed just to get a laugh. The comedy moments only add to a warm and relatable script as Peter stops looking and finally finds a kindred spirit in Jason Segal's Sydney.
As the odd couple becomes closer and Peter starts to give in to a series of man chats covering the likes of sex, drugs and the big question on why he's getting married (intersected by some excellent jamming sessions by the way) the obvious divide in the somewhat uneven love triangle - if you count casually put aside fiancé Rashida Jones - starts to show.
Overall this is a constantly funny, if not always laugh out loud - to borrow a term being thrown around quite heavily - "bro-mantic" comedy which thanks to a strong supporting cast stands head and shoulders above other buddy movies. The female roles are evenly handled and never reduced to eye candy or the butt of testosterone fueled jokes which makes the film appealing to both sexes. A great date movie, you just have to decide on if you want to take the girlfriend or find yourself a man chum!
***
~ The Boat That Rocked ~
As the swinging 60’s plays host to some of the most memorable rock/pop sounds of the 20th century, the government is doing all they can to restrict any radio airplay. It’s left to the misfits who run pirate radio stations like Radio rock to broadcast 24 hours a day to millions of loyal fans getting their groove on in more ways than one.
Richard Curtis returns to his first writer/director role since Love Actually, this time armed with the promise of edgier material. Sadly the film shy’s away from covering anything in too much detail – sex and drugs are mentioned but don’t feature heavily – even conflict between the DJ’s is gently pushed aside to make way for schoolboy humor and practical jokes.
With Curtis’ previous work in TV comedies such as Blackadder and The Vicar of Dibley you could guarantee that every character would be memorable for one reason or another, but with this film so many personalities are on board it’s difficult to pick any that genuinely stand out. Although this doesn’t mean they don’t have their moments to shine. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is on top form as US DJ “The Count” finding rivalry in Rhys Ifans pimped out returning nemesis Gavin. One genuinely great turn comes in the form of Ralph Brown’s forgotten about twilight DJ “Bob”.
If any of this sounds overly negative it can’t outweigh the overall positive thoughts I have. The way in which the somewhat overly long running time effortlessly passes by, helped along by the best soundtrack since Slumdog Millionaire, it didn’t once feel tiresome. As the film enters the final act, with more than just a fleeting reference to Titanic, I felt it really began to level out. LP covers gently drift into the ghostly depths; the crew takes up their final stand and as the ship begins to upend the film really is at its best!
Although it’s silly, it’s not stupid and maybe it’s to light for some people but as I danced and sang my way out of the cinema I can confirm this is definitely one boat that rocks!!!!
As the swinging 60’s plays host to some of the most memorable rock/pop sounds of the 20th century, the government is doing all they can to restrict any radio airplay. It’s left to the misfits who run pirate radio stations like Radio rock to broadcast 24 hours a day to millions of loyal fans getting their groove on in more ways than one.
Richard Curtis returns to his first writer/director role since Love Actually, this time armed with the promise of edgier material. Sadly the film shy’s away from covering anything in too much detail – sex and drugs are mentioned but don’t feature heavily – even conflict between the DJ’s is gently pushed aside to make way for schoolboy humor and practical jokes.
With Curtis’ previous work in TV comedies such as Blackadder and The Vicar of Dibley you could guarantee that every character would be memorable for one reason or another, but with this film so many personalities are on board it’s difficult to pick any that genuinely stand out. Although this doesn’t mean they don’t have their moments to shine. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is on top form as US DJ “The Count” finding rivalry in Rhys Ifans pimped out returning nemesis Gavin. One genuinely great turn comes in the form of Ralph Brown’s forgotten about twilight DJ “Bob”.
If any of this sounds overly negative it can’t outweigh the overall positive thoughts I have. The way in which the somewhat overly long running time effortlessly passes by, helped along by the best soundtrack since Slumdog Millionaire, it didn’t once feel tiresome. As the film enters the final act, with more than just a fleeting reference to Titanic, I felt it really began to level out. LP covers gently drift into the ghostly depths; the crew takes up their final stand and as the ship begins to upend the film really is at its best!
Although it’s silly, it’s not stupid and maybe it’s to light for some people but as I danced and sang my way out of the cinema I can confirm this is definitely one boat that rocks!!!!
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