{"id":16766,"date":"2022-10-24T19:11:13","date_gmt":"2022-10-24T23:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=16766"},"modified":"2025-06-22T18:05:48","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T22:05:48","slug":"i-love-you-man-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=16766","title":{"rendered":"I Love You, Man-2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

I Love You, Man-2009<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director John Hamburg<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring Paul Rudd, Jason Segal, Rashida Jones<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #1,311<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed October 24, 2022<\/p>\n

Grade: B<\/strong><\/p>\n

I Love You, Man (2009) is another one of these ‘feel-good’ types of ‘bromance’ comedies to grace the silver screen in the 2000s. It takes a familiar storyline of two male friends bonding, usually involving a female in the mix to complicate matters, with hilariously awkward moments thrown in.<\/p>\n

It’s nothing groundbreaking or overly severe but rather a mildly satisfying ‘guy film’ that a female audience can also enjoy too because there exists a romance and a happily ever after.<\/p>\n

I’m simplifying the specific gender tastes quite a bit but what I mean is the film is light and there can be something for everyone to enjoy.<\/p>\n

While there are some innocent homoerotic playful moments between the men, for laughs, of course, the genre avoids anything LGBTQ+ related other than a gay supporting character who cleverly teaches the straight male how to ‘meet’ men.<\/p>\n

Director, John Hamburg, is involved in similarly themed projects like Meet the Parents (2000) and Along Came Polly (2004) so he knows the common premise required for a film like I Love You, Man as well as what the audience wants.<\/p>\n

As his wedding day approaches, nerdy Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) realizes he has no one to serve as his best man. Through a series of “man-dates,” he finds abrasive Sydney Fife (Jason Segel), and the pair become instant friends.<\/p>\n

But as Peter’s “bromance” with Sydney grows stronger, it threatens his relationship with his intended, Zooey (Rashida Jones), forcing Peter to make a choice.<\/p>\n

It’s not a bad effort and Rudd and Segal have good chemistry as polar opposite characters. The differences are a big part of the laughs but Jones is somewhat unnecessary to the plot other than the required female component to satisfy the formula.<\/p>\n

She dutifully plays her role as the straight woman immersed between two goofballs but has very little to do other than get in the way and be a roadblock to the guy’s fun.<\/p>\n

It’s not a great role for her and the chemistry is lacking between her and Rudd but maybe that’s just the point. I’m not too sure but I found the humorous moments entirely left to the boys to provide.<\/p>\n

My favorite section of the film is one that many may dismiss or deem secondary. The legendary progressive rock band Rush makes an appearance as a way that Peter and Sydney ultimately bond.<\/p>\n

Any fan of music, especially a thinking man’s band like Rush, can attest to the genuine bond that can be created between followers of a specific group.<\/p>\n

Rush is legendary for just that and it makes I Love You, Man feel fresher than it otherwise would have. Besides, other than Led Zeppelin is there a better example of a ‘guy’s band’?<\/p>\n

Otherwise, the film is particularly run-of-the-mill. There are familiar arguments, misunderstandings, breakups, and makeup to be endured.<\/p>\n

Events start with a marriage proposal and unsurprisingly end with a wedding ceremony so anything in between is rather superfluous since we can see the outcome a mile away.<\/p>\n

Naturally, as much as Zooey wants Peter to have more male friends she becomes suspicious and otherwise threatened by the new blood, feeling left out.<\/p>\n

There is a hint that Sydney may be trying to manipulate and pull the wool over Peter’s eyes over a financial loan but things work themselves out just fine.<\/p>\n

As predictable as I Love You, Man (2009) is there is a sentimental, even heartwarming sensation to be left with, and a few good chuckles along the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I Love You, Man-2009 Director John Hamburg Starring Paul Rudd, Jason Segal, Rashida Jones Scott’s Review #1,311 Reviewed October 24, 2022 Grade: B I Love You, Man (2009) is another one of these ‘feel-good’ types of ‘bromance’ comedies to grace the silver screen in the 2000s. It takes a familiar storyline of two male friends … Continue reading I Love You, Man-2009<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[308,49],"tags":[2734,2735,2736,2732,2731,7129,6172,2004,2733,2737],"class_list":["post-16766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2009-movie-reviews","category-comedies","tag-andy-samberg","tag-j-k-simmons","tag-jane-curtin","tag-jason-segel","tag-john-hamburg","tag-jon-favreau","tag-nick-kroll","tag-paul-rudd","tag-rashida-jones","tag-rush"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16766"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19698,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16766\/revisions\/19698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}