Review: I Love You, Man

Review: I Love You, Man

Rating: ***1/2

Nonna's Rating: $$$

Rotten Tomatoes: 80%

I heartily recommend this movie. Yes, the humor can be crude and tasteless, but it is balanced by a pervasive sweetness. Peter, played by Paul Rudd, is engaged to Zooey (Rashida Jones of The Office). Zooey has a small crowd of friends who will be her wedding attendants; Peter, unfortunately, has no strong friendships with other men; he's not even close with his father or brother. So, Peter sets out to make some friends.

Some critics have said that this situation is totally unbelievable. I beg to differ. Most definitely, I have known men who were more comfortable around women, who enjoyed their company and felt socially inept around other men -- especially men who can be described as "guys' guys." Such women-loving men are not adept at sportstalk, the guy language of choice. They also don't spend much time complaining about women and their idiosyncracies -- or bragging about sexual conquests, the provence of men's men.

So, Peter decides to befriend a man, and his attempts provide a great deal of comic relief. He finally hooks up with Sydney, a guy secure enough to wear shorts and Uggs to walk his dog. As one critic points out, Sydney (Jason Segal) is a little bit like "The Dude" in The Great Labowski -- just not living so close to the edges of society.

By the end of the movie, Peter has learned more about himself and about his relationship with Zooey. Syndey also manages to grow up a bit. It's a delightful 90 minutes.

Nonna's Ratings:

$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price
$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it