I consider this film a romantic comedy. While Paul Rudd’s character, Peter, does get engaged to Rashida Jones’ character, Zooey, that is not the main love story of this movie. The main love story is between Peter and Sydney (Jason Segel). It’s a broship. A bromance. Like Ryan Reynolds and Jake Gyllenhaal, or Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, or Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
Perfect for the Valentine’s Day season, this film is lighthearted and delivers exactly what you want it to. Paul Rudd never disappoints, and his chemistry with Jason Segel is fun to watch. Rudd plays Peter, a serial monogamist with no male friends. He focuses on one girl, gives her all his love and attention, and is not used to nurturing male friendships. But when his fiancé points this out to him and encourages him to explore friendships of his own, he goes on a journey of finding his own friends. First, he goes to his brother (Andy Samberg) for help, but that does not lead him anywhere good.
Eventually, he finds Sydney (Jason Segel) and the sparks start to fly. Sydney brings out Peter’s fun side and encourages him to stand up for himself at work. Sydney even punches a huge, built guy because he thinks he is defending Peter and helping him in the long run. He is truly a good friend and cares about Peter’s best interest. After a few ups and downs, it’s clear that Peter and Sydney’s friendship is true and not just something that is surface level and going to disintegrate easily. After Sydney makes a risky business venture, their friendship is cemented forever.
Overall, this film is pretty good. It is not something extraordinary that takes the audience to a new realm or exciting perspective, but it is what I expected it to be. It is funny, goofy, and easy to watch. It’s a chill night film that delivers some laughs and it looks like the cast had fun making this movie. It’s a rom com with a twist. J.K. Simmons even plays Peter’s dad, Nick Kroll and Nelson Franklin (Robby from New Girl) even make an appearance. It was funny to think of Paul Rudd having Andy Samberg as his brother and J.K. Simmons as his father. That would be a family to remember. Imagine the summer barbecues and the Christmas party jokes.
6.5/10
*Disclaimer: Making a movie is hard. Sometimes you have an idea and it is not interpreted how you intended it to be. All directors, producers, writers, and everyone on set should be proud at what they created and I do not want to diminish that. I just want to share my opinions so we can learn from movies and see what works and what didn’t.
Aloha Arianna 