I Love You, Man

Directed by John Hamburg

Starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel


Acting (7): Rudd and Segel are natural fits for the bromance genre. They're equal parts everyman awkwardness, hollywood charm, and frat boy intellect. Though they don't have to stretch much, they play the roles well. Supporting characters played by JK Simmons and Jon Favreau also provide some laughs.


Audio / Visual (7): There is nothing special about the way this film was shot, but there was nothing distractingly bad either. Since a portion of the plot revolves around Rudd and Segel's love of the band Rush, plenty of their classic tunes are interwoven throughout.

Plot (7): The Bromance genre has found a niche over the last couple years and this film falls right in line with it's predacessors. The story is formulaic for the most part and the film ends with a rather cliche and corny wedding scene. However, the story is well executed. The pace is solid and the characters, particularly the two leads, are developed enough that the audience actually cares about the outcome.

Entertainment (7.5) While some of the more vulgar jokes fall flat early on, the film picks up steam as the relationship between Rudd and Segel's characters develop. The film manages a decent balance of vulgar college humor and sweet Rom Com charm. Despite most of the major laughs being given away in the trailer, there is still plenty of entertainment value here. Rudd proves, once again, to be one of the most likable comedic leads in the business.

Overall (7) GOOD

Styles of Movie Watching

Over the years of watching film I have come to realize that there has to be varying degrees of movie watching. With advertising and the internet being so prevalent it is almost impossible to watch a film without having some preconceived feeling of what the film will be or what ones response to the film will be.

To be completely honest my viewpoint is almost always biased. When I hear that a movie is gaining Oscar buzz I tend to give the film more leeway as it relates to our critique points. When my cohort on this blog gives a raving review I go into the film with a positive light. Now that's not to say that I don't completely disagree with professional critics (i.e. I completely despise Pulp Fiction) at times or on the rare occasion Derek (Gran Torino), but I go into the movie looking for ways to find the good aspects of the film and not completely subjective as one should.

I think a case in point for this is Derek's review of The Happening. He had heard from me how horrible it was, and from everyone else for that matter, so he approached the movie expecting the absolute worst and he found the redeeming qualities instead.

So all that to ask, what is the resolution to this problem?

I am not sure there is an answer. I guess to get an absolute true opinion one must watch a film having seen no preview and having heard nor read a review of the film unfortunately for the average movie fan this is not an option. So maybe the answer comes from gauging our expectations. Maybe we set up a scale that we expect a movie to hit when we start and then rate the film based on what it provides based on that scale. This might keep us from finding that sneaky hidden gem (think Once or Diving Bell and the Butterfly), but it may also help us judge movies for what they are. Remember this is all a form of entertainment and all actors and actresses take different films for the paycheck. They all mail it in occasionally.

So obviously this whole thought process stems from something. Well, by my wife's choice I spent this evening watching Bride Wars, now my expectations going in were low and in the end even those expectations were too high. Even Anne Hathaway could not come close to saving this disaster of a film, but it got me thinking that maybe there should be a sliding scale for rating movies. Maybe going in for movies that we have a preconceived estimate in our head we rate how the movie did at meeting those expectations.

I don't think anyone goes into movies like the aforementioned Bride Wars or say Fools Gold, another Kate Hudson classic, expecting to see Oscar worthy performances, state-of-the-art camera work, or amazing special effects they just want to be entertained and some will find those films entertaining. I on one hand loved the first Mummy movie even though Brendan Fraser should not be seen anywhere near an Oscar stage (Yes, I have seen Crash and yes the rating is deteriorating for me daily). Watching the movie back there are lots of issues, but it is entertaining and maybe that should be rated on a different scale than say The Departed or Revolutionary Road. Of course as it stands our scale is open to all classes and varieties of film and unfortunately that means a VERY low rating for the likes of Bride Wars (it could be on a two point scale and it would still be rated poorly). I think though for someone out there if you based the scale not on the quality of the overall picture from a critical standpoint, but maybe completely how entertained they were for a film, that they were not expecting Oscar worthy performances, than someone out there might rate that move higher, but its not me.

YFG and the forgotten films of 2008

Making a quality film doesn't always ensure box office success or even critical acclaim during award season. Whether independant or backed by a large studio, all films rely on marketing to to create interest. As much as any other industry, film is a beauty contest. When a film does well at the box office or takes home an academy award it's no accident. Millions of dollars go into wooing both audiences and critics with the hopes of generating a buzz that will yield a significant return. Without this financial backing, even the best of films can go unnoticed.

2008's Oscar darling, Slumdog Millionaire nearly fell through the cracks when Warner Bros. shut down their Indie distribution division. Had Fox Searchlight not purchased and released the film, it would have almost certainly headed straight for DVD, killing any and all hope of Oscar glory.

Unfortunately, when financial disaster strikes, not all films are lucky enough to be rescued. In December of 2008, Yari Film Group's (YFG) movie distribution division filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. YFG had long been a major independent movie distributer with titles like Crash, The Matador, and the Illusionist to their credit. The company's financial woes left two films with legitimate award show aspirations, Nothing but the Truth and What Doesn't Kill You, in limbo.

What Doesn't Kill You was "fortunate" enough to receive a limited theatrical release in the US just three days before YFG went under. Directed by Brian Goodman, What Doesn't Kill You is a gritty, enthralling crime drama set in South Boston. In what could easily pass as a Dennis Lehane novel adaptation, the film chronicles two life long friends and their lives as theives, drug dealers, and runners for a crime boss. Ethan Hawke and Mark Ruffalo are both quite convincing as small time Irish thugs. Amanda Peet, who plays Ruffalo's wife who is struggling to deal with her husband's life outside of the home and family, also gives a notable performance. While the film probably isn't Oscar worthy, it's certainly a very solid drama that had the potential to be a real crowd pleaser with a little marketing.

In what is perhaps the best film about print journalism since 1976's All the President's Men, Kate Beckinsale stars as a reporter who, despite pressure from the federal government, refuses to give up her source that broke the biggest story of her career. Beckinsale, along with Alan Alda and Vera Farmiga deliver very strong performances worthy of acclaim on any stage. While Beckinsale and Farmiga were nominated for Critic's choice awards, the straight to DVD release of the film killed any chance they had of Academy Award or Golden Globe nominations.

Both Nothing but the Truth and What Doesn't Kill You are exceptional films worthy of a wide audience. However, with the troubles of YFG and the lack of financial support behind these films, even their recent DVD releases are bound to go unnoticed by most.