Eu Te Amo, Cara

Though you won't find the name Judd Apatow on this film at all, he certainly has a hand in it, as his influence is all over the film. However, unlike most of the movies that can certainly be grouped with this one, 'I Love You, Man' is a movie almost anyone can enjoy, even women and kids. It's the lightest, warmest, and the best for buddies of either sex to see. It's a delightful comedy that will make you laugh throughout and brighten your day.

Whether it be the great buddy chemistry between the leads, or the simply hysterical supporting cast, I found myself loving this movie. Like director John Hamburg's previous effort, 'Along Came Polly', the movie is incredibly likable because it relies on the awkward humor that Paul Rudd does pretty much perfectly, playing off the happy-go-lucky humor of Jason Segel.

Rudd is likable and reliable as usual in a role showcasing the best of his abilities (I really can't say how happy I am that he's finally getting leading roles), and unlike in 'Role Models', he's the undisputed lead here. Segel is a character in Rudd's story, his life, and his journey to find a friend, and essentially, become a complete person before his life changes for the better. Segel is at his best in a role as what appears to be the perfect friend (I would hang out with this guy for days). Rashida Jones is adorable and likable as Rudd's fiancé, and it's a role that most actresses would've over done (Jaime Pressly's performance should remind people of how it could've been over done), and Jones plays it with an ease that makes her likable.

The supporting cast is what makes the movie great. It's the foundation of characters played by Thomas Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio, Jon Favreau, Jaime Pressly, and Andy Samberg that completes the movie and makes it worth watching (because, let's face it, the movie wouldn't be that great if Rudd and Segel just sat around bro-ing out for 2 hours). Lennon and Truglio are hilarious as candidates for Peter's best man position, and Lennon will bring down the house as Doug, with his classic monologue about how he feels when his advances towards Peter are rejected. Truglio is great in yet another small cameo that stacks up with his previous appearances in 'Pineapple Express' and 'Superbad', as well as the icing on the cake that was 'Role Models' (he's an example of the whole "everyone will like this movie" thing. Jon Favreau is hysterical in his part as a cynical ass that makes you go, "this guy directed 'Iron Man'?".

I think the reason most people will like this one is because it'll put a smile on most people's faces. It's a generally happy movie that is a good movie to see in a group to start off a night, and is even a decent date movie. It's got jokes that even kids can like (though most of the film is obviously not appropriate for them...what I'm saying is if they HAVE to see one of these movies, this is the one for them). I really enjoyed this movie, it left a good taste in my mouth, and my friends loved it too.

Kevin Klaven (Paul Rudd) hasn't a friend in the world - or so he realizes when he becomes engaged to Zooey (Rashida Jones) and finds he can't come up with a single male buddy to be in his wedding party. The solution? Go out and make some platonic guy friends, even if it means having to rely on your mommy (Jane Curtin) and your gay younger brother (Andy Samberg) to help you do it. Eventually, after a number of faltering attempts, Kevin alights on Sydney (Jason Segel), a mucho macho bundle of testosterone who, like a latter-day Henry Higgins to Kevin's Eliza Doolittle, instructs the awkward lad on the fine art of "being a man." But as with any good teacher/pupil relationship, each side winds up learning a little something from the other before it's all over.

A straight man far more comfortable in the company of women than of men, Kevin emerges as the ultimate metrosexual figure: fastidious in demeanor, sensitive to the needs of others, and courteous to a fault (he even admits to liking "The Devil Wears Prada" in a moment of unguarded weakness). He doesn't really know how to roughhouse it with the boys, and any efforts he makes in that direction inevitably lead to failure. Until our man Sydney steps into the breach to give him a few badly needed pointers, that is.

Smoothly directed by John Hamburg, "I Love You, Man" is a relaxed, breezy and sharply written male-bonding comedy that - miracle of miracles - doesn't play down to its audience (it may be crude at times, but it's rarely childish). The Hamburg/Larry Levin screenplay does a clever job poking fun at the double entendres inherent in any modern-day bromance, though one wishes certain characters - Kevin's family members, in particular - had been allotted a little more in the way of screen time. That being said, the performances are all first-rate, with Rudd and Segel playing to their respective strengths - Rudd's of the tongue-tied, self-effacing Mr. Nice Guy who needs lessons in "manning up," and Segel's of the refreshingly blunt but socially indelicate Man/Child who clearly needs to do some growing up.

There's additional excellent work from J.K. Simmons, Jamie Pressly, Sarah Burns and Rob Huebel, among others.

It's also a bit of a casting coup to get both Jane Curtin from the first generation of SNL players and Andy Samberg from the current one together in the same film. Finally, some unlikely cameo appearances by Lou Ferrigno and the band Rush, all appearing as themselves, add to the spirit of fun that permeates the film.

I Love You, Man may feel like another Apatow company production, but it's mostly because some of its "stock" company players (I put quotes as it's both a loose term and just about right) like Paul Rudd and Jason Siegel. They give the air of using the screenplay as the easiest of diving boards into just shooting-the-hell-of-it with one another as two friends. Rudd plays a guy about to get married and is embarrassed to find out, from all those around him more than anything, that he doesn't have many, or really any, true friends. He meets Siegel at an open house for Lou Ferrigno (he's a real estate agent and Ferrigno fills the oddball cameo choice, it's a great choice though), and the two hit it off as a "bromance" develops.

It's this "bromance" that makes I Love You, Man a little interesting as a double-edged romantic comedy. It's already about Rudd and his to-be played by Rashida Jones, their little moments of fun and their arguments too (there's a cute running gag involving Rudd's imitations of the band Rush sounding like an Irishman), but then it's also got plenty of innuendo to this being really about the guys, how Siegel gets attached to Rudd in that way that surely isn't gay but is more than just casual acquaintance stuff (see his "investment" plan unfold). But truth be told it's not even this that makes I Love You, Man so funny.

Rudd and Siegel are simply funny guys, but naturally so; there's a new trend to put a somewhat straight face on gross out gags in these movies, Apatow or its spin-off groups (one can equate it to the good rip-offs of Tarantino in the 90s to a certain extent), and it works very well here. It's like a sweet blending of Curb Your Enthusiasm awkwardness (if, of course, nowhere near the genius of that, especially with story) and some of the low-brow Adam Sandler stuff and joyfully useless banter and non-jock male bonding. It's not any better or lessor than recent stuff from Siegel and Rudd; you could watch this with either Forgetting Sarah Marshall or Role Models and be satisfied about the same. Again, plot is not at all the strong suit, but if you just want some cleverly obvious comedy dialog it's a good detour.

At the least, we get one of the funniest lines of the year, or just in years, near the very end: "I love you... Broseph Goebbels!"

Paul Rudd has managed to do a good job of delivering a solid "normal guy" comic lead in comedies that are amusing if not particularly amazing. This is not a criticism though because I do find the films he has been in recently to be perfectly enjoyable, with a consistent comic air and a good handful of laughs spread across a plot that, while not engaging or amazing, is not offensively simple or crass either. This track record is what brought me to I Love You Man because I felt like I knew what to expect from the film and also that I was fairly confident that it would meet my expectations and maybe even be a bit better than I expected. I'm not trying to say that if it was weak that I could enjoy it because I thought it would be weak and was prepared for that, but just that the film needs to deliver what it proposes to do and satisfy on those terms – which given how many poor comedies and blockbusters come out of Hollywood, is not as easy as it sounds.

Fortunately, ILYM does do this and it does it in a way that will please the majority of viewers. The plot is simple and sets up the obvious gags but does also produce a solid "bromance" narrative, which is enjoyable while not saying much more than the basics about the nature of modern men. What helps it a great deal is that it is funny. The tone of it is well maintained and it did keep me in the mood to laugh, which is half the battle. It manages this through the main characters being likable in the most part as well as having plenty of pretty funny asides or episodes based on plot or character, which are again delivered well by a cast containing endless faces that will be familiar to anyone who watches US comedy on even a semi-regular basis.

I'm not sure that Paul Rudd is close to being an all-round leading man type of actor but certainly this type of film (like some of his other recent turns) plays to his strengths. He is comically awkward but yet also keeps the audience with him by being easy to like – helped by the film being light on crude or crass comedy, which can put me off some characters. He works well with TV comedian Segel, who is perhaps a less engaging and likable character but does convince within it and is funny. Beyond the two of them everyone else is pretty much in a supporting role and, as well as having lots of famous faces, they do mostly deliver laughs in "asides". Pressly and Favreau are both very good at this and steal a lot of scenes. I liked The Office's Jones turn as the fiancé as I generally like her delivery. There are many other faces to recognise (such as Simmons, Samberg, Curtin, Chaandrasekhar, Ferrigno, Wilmore) and some of them do provide value even if others only provide a face.

Overall though, ILYM delivers what it sets its stall out to do – which is a gentle and funny comedy that is easy to watch and entertaining even if it is fleeting and not particularly memorable as a film in and of itself. Rudd plays to his strengths and provides the thin plot with a likable and engaging core, while the material is very funny at best and amusing at worst. Not a classic by any means but it has laughs and it has charm.

Fifteen years ago on this day in 2009, I Love You, Man came out in theaters. My favorite scenes from this movie are: Peter Klaven trying to find some friends when also hanging out with Barry and his friends, Lonnie talking in a high-pitched voice, Peter and Sydney Fife walking on the Venice Boardwalk and going to Sydney's house both for the first time, Peter and Sydney jamming, Peter saying Slap the Bass, the engagement dinner scene, the Rush concert scene, and Peter seeing billboards of himself. With that being said, happy fifteenth anniversary to I Love You, Man starring Paul Rudd as Peter Klaven and Jason Segel as Sydney Fife.