BEFORE: And Birthday SHOUT-out #31 (that's 5 in a row, but who's counting?) to Paul Rudd, born 4/6/1969. I could make up some bogus connection between this week's films - or draw a connection from the uneasy friendship between Eve and Margo in last night's film, but I feel that would be reaching. Hey, this week's films all feature... ummm... awkward situations, yeah! (Don't they all?)
Now for some nimble linking: Bette Davis was in "Death on the Nile" with Mia Farrow, who was in "Be Kind Rewind" with Jack Black, who was in "Year One" with Paul Rudd. Take that!
THE PLOT: Friendless Peter Klaven goes on a series of man-dates to find a Best Man for his wedding. But when his bond with his new B.F.F. puts a strain on his relationship with his fiancée, can the trio learn to live happily ever after?
AFTER: This movie took a LONG time to get to something truly interesting. It felt like the whole first hour was a set-up for a twist that never really came - have we forgotten about six-act structure, people? There were three acts here, tops. Kind of like a song that starts out quiet, and you're sure that the full band's going to come in at the chorus and kick the song into high gear, only it never does.
I sympathize with the main character, perhaps more than most people would - if only that were enough. One of the film's few insights is that there may be a fundamental difference between different types of men - swinging singles, and married men, for lack of better terms right now. And when a person tries to balance a career, a relationship, and a couple hobbies, there's very little time to be social and strike up new friendships. But can a single guy and a married guy have enough in common?
I've found that I've lost touch with my college friends, my vocal group friends have moved out of town, leaving me with my trivia teammates, co-workers and ex-co-workers, my wife's friends, plus any people I see semi-regularly on the beer festival and comic-con scenes. I don't have a day-to-day bromance going on, but I don't see this as much of a problem, although when viewed from afar someone might perceive it as such. Screw them. I reject the notion that a man without an active hang-buddy is somehow flawed, or somehow less of a man.
(My BFF Andy - who's performed Best Man duties for me twice, delivering the best toasts that anyone could ask for - lives in the Boston area, but we do get to hang out 3 or 4 times a year, when he comes to town on business or I travel up to see my parents)
As it turns out, the majority of people in my social circle are female - again, I don't think of this as a problem, it's just the way it is. Paul Rudd's character seems to get along fine with women - why not just run with that, and have a female Best Man? The movie rejects other possible solutions to the problem, not even considering the groom's brother as a viable option (he happens to be a gay man who only dates straight men - honestly, that's a more interesting movie plot right there)
The characters here find that you can't force a friendship - you have to let them develop naturally, just like romances, or they're no good. I know from my own experience that your wife is not always going to like your friends, especially the more uncivilized ones, so the best thing to do is just to keep them separated.
The two main characters do learn something from each other - Peter learns to let loose, embrace his inner caveman, and rock out on some Rush tunes, and Sydney learns that maybe being brutally honest and blunt isn't always appropriate, and that maybe there's something to this growing-up thing after all. However, the one area of character growth I would have liked to have seen is Sydney learning to clean up after his dog. From a story standpoint, why introduce an obvious character flaw like this, if it doesn't end up being corrected? Plus it's nasty and gives viewers bad ideas.
They couldn't make Sydney TOO obnoxious, or Peter would be justified in cutting him loose, and they couldn't make him too perfect either, or there would be no conflict. So this was a movie hampered by its own premise. I also have to remove a point for excess scatalogical humor (vomit jokes, poop jokes, fart jokes), something all too common these days.
And I don't find much humor in showing characters that struggle to be funny, and fail. Instead of laughing AT them for being unfunny, which is the intent, I find this just creates a character who truly isn't funny, and fills the film with jokes that don't land.
Also starring Jason Segel (last seen in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"), Rashida Jones, Jon Favreau (last heard in "G-Force"), Jamie Pressly (last heard in "Horton Hears a Who"), Andy Samberg (last seen in "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist"), Jane Curtin (last seen in "Coneheads"), J.K. Simmons (last seen in "The First Wives Club"), with cameos from Rob Heubel, Aziz Ansari, Nick Kroll, Thomas Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio, Jay Chandrasekhar, David Krumholtz, Larry Wilmore, Lou Ferrigno and the band Rush.
RATING: 4 out of 10 business cards
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