I Love You, Man

A "bromance" that is more entertaining than it has any right to be, largely thanks to the effortless chemistry between its two leads. Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) has just proposed to his loving girlfriend Zooey (Rashida Jones) but she's concerned over his lack of male friends. Keen to find a best man for his wedding, Peter begins interviewing potential candidates, leading to a couple of humorous misunderstandings before meeting Sydney (Jason Segal), a slacker type who encourages uptight Peter to let loose. What follows is a comical reappropriation of rom-com clichés as played out by two straight men. It's a solid concept, although the relationship's inevitable complications, thrown in towards the end of the movie, feel cursory and aren't explored with any real depth. I Love You, Man also, on occassion, feels a little too loose. The actors have clearly been given free rein to improvise, leading to some dialogue that is very funny indeed, but there are a couple of scenes that run on longer than they need to.

That said, this has more belly laughs than your average romantic comedy and the lead performances are just as good as you would expect. Rudd is particularly impressive. Mining The Office and other comedies of embarrassment, his Peter Klaven may be cringe-inducing (his attempts at giving Sydney a nickname are especially funny) but he's also instantly likeable and the movie pretty much coasts by on his charms alone.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Another funny, slightly overlong, sentimental-in-a-good-way film from the Judd Apatow stable.  Peter (Jason Segal) is dumped, whilst naked, by his TV star girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell).  A vacation in Hawaii that is supposed to take his mind off the break-up starts badly when it transpires that Sarah is staying at the same hotel with her new boyfriend, rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand).

Although Judd Apatow only shares a producer's credit on Forgetting Sarah Marshall, his influence is palpable.  Like Knocked Up and Superbad, this is less of a comedy and more a drama about a slacker-type twentysomething growing up.  Writer and star Jason Segal has created a well-rounded, oddly likeable character in Peter, who may be self-pitying and unmotivated but at least he's a nice enough guy.  It's a pity then that the female parts are written in such broad strokes.  Unlike Alison in Knocked Up, we're not meant to see Sarah as a responsible, intelligent counterpoint to Peter.  Instead, we're encouraged to see her as the needy girlfriend who doesn't appreciate Peter's support when she has it but is ready to fall back into his arms when it all goes tits up with her next boyfriend.  The real object of Peter's affection turns out to be Rachel (Mila Kunis), the kind of free-thinking, sympathetic ideal girlfriend we've been seeing in movies ever since Natalie Portman listened to The Shins in Garden State.  Whilst both Bell and Kunis make the most of their material, the accusations of misogyny that have been levelled at Apatow's previous productions in the past are pretty hard to deny here.

That isn't to say there aren't any laughs, although these mostly come from the stellar supporting cast, particularly Paul Rudd as a dim-witted surf instructor.  Forgetting Sarah Marshall is an aimiable, ambling comedy that has plenty of big laughs in it.  It's just a shame that it doesn't have the emotional weight of its predecessors.