One of the minor effects of the gay-rights movement is that what used to just be called friendship must sometimes, at least on screen, now be self-consciously distinguished. Hence the concept of a “man date” that can develop into a full-fledged “bromance.” Hence comedies like Superbad, Talledega Nights, and this one that seem to celebrate male-bonding in a self-conscious way, yet keep a (mostly) hetero vibe. Here, newly engaged Peter (Paul Rudd) realizes that, unlike his fiancée (Rashida Jones), he doesn’t have any same-sex friends, and sets out to change that.
A comedy about a guy desperate to make guy friends could easily work the homosexual panic angle for 90 minutes, at best like the Seinfeld episode in which a reporter mistakenly thinks Jerry and George are lovers…not that there’s anything wrong with that. The TV commercial makes it look more like You, Me, and Dupree, in which a a gregarious man-child (in this case, Jason Segel) takes over the regular guy’s life. (Rudd, exuding “regular guy,” is the ideal straight man—no pun intended—to Segel’s wooly persona.) But what it actually reminded me of was a different Seinfeld episode, a two-parter in which Jerry develops a “man-crush” on baseball star Keith Hernandez.) Sure enough, the writer of that 1992 episode, Larry Levin, is the cowriter (with director John Hamburg) of this very movie.
So while sexuality-related themes are part of the mix, what a lot of it’s about is the ways the rituals of friendship are and are not similar to those of romance. When Peter forgets the difference, his intentions are comically misunderstood. Segel’s character is a let-it-all-hang-out sort, but he’s not as extreme as Dupree. (His disdain for rules extends to not cleaning up after his dog.) He represents the hedonistic, loose side that Rudd’s Peter, a real estate agent, worries that he’s repressed. (They bond over the rowdy music of the band Rush.) Some amusing supporting characters, including Lou “The Incredible Hulk” Ferrigno as Peter’s wealthiest client, provide a third avenue for the comedy.
Hamburg, who previously helmed Along Came Polly and wrote Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers, skirts the edges of formula comedy, but doesn’t succumb to cliché. I Love You, Man has some sexual humor (hence the R rating), but isn’t smutty. It’s a male-bonding comedy, but a romantic one too. Mostly, it’s very funny.
IMDB link
viewed 2/12/09 (screening at Ritz East) and reviewed 2/12–3/19/09
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