Despite falling into a classical and formulaic plot, I Love You, Man is a socially engaging piece of cinema that somehow feels authentic in its own respect. Written and directed by John Hamburg, the film follows Peter Klaven who has just got engaged to Zooey Rice. Peter, however does not seem to have anyone special he’d like to share the good news with. After overhearing Zooey's friends tell her that they are concerned Peter does not have any friends, he realizes he needs to find some male friends in order to have a best man for his wedding. This concept forms the foundations to a rather simplistic but overwhelmingly derisive film.
The film is aimed at and advertised for a typical female audience, even though the film primarily focuses on the male figure, in particular masculinity and male sexuality. The film therefore segregates itself from the conventions of the romantic comedy by taking its conventions and almost criticising them entirely. The space that both Peter and his “friend” Sydney spend time together is not a space of “manliness” devoted to the male sex, but rather a space that the female audience can intrude in, giving them an insight into the opposite sex, creating comedy for them. This is not to say the male audience is excluded from the film. For them, the film becomes more than a tool for getting some comedy from, but a meaningful way of looking at the contemporary state of the male self and how this relates to the society in which we exist.
Paul Rudd as Peter Klaven demonstrates good performances, but sadly Rashida Jones (Zooey Rice) does not. Her performances at times verge on amateur which was exposed because of the nature of her role. She was not the ‘typical female figure’ who was about to fall into ‘normal marriage‘, and her character demanded a much more flexible approach which she unfortunately did not achieve. Rudd, on the other hand, stayed true to the nature of his role and the many diverse situations he was faced with, really lifting his profile as a prolific Hollywood actor. The directing most certainly added to the emotions expressed from the film, even if, at times, John Hamburg could have prevented so many shots being to static, prolonging one single situation. This effect at times make certain moments of the film seem too long winded and unfortunately unnecessary.
With a whole range of films of its kind being released as of late, I Love You, Man could have been a predictable, formulaic addition to a genre suffering from genetic exhaustion. The key quality from the film most certainly comes from its unexpected ability to draw in different audience types and providing different messages to them. Women will laugh, Men will laugh at the woman. Overall, I Love You, Man is a unique and highly unforeseen piece of cinema that is jam packed with laughs and moments of endless humour. Even though the plot is shallow, the depth of the film lies beneath, just like the feelings that poor Peter cannot admit to.
With a whole range of films of its kind being released as of late, I Love You, Man could have been a predictable, formulaic addition to a genre suffering from genetic exhaustion. The key quality from the film most certainly comes from its unexpected ability to draw in different audience types and providing different messages to them. Women will laugh, Men will laugh at the woman. Overall, I Love You, Man is a unique and highly unforeseen piece of cinema that is jam packed with laughs and moments of endless humour. Even though the plot is shallow, the depth of the film lies beneath, just like the feelings that poor Peter cannot admit to.
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