** ¨? out of ****
In an age when Brody Jenner is searching for his new best friend by way of "bromance" on MTV, it should come as no surprise that Hollywood would eventually make a film based on this kind of distinctly heterosexual union between two buddies. "I Love You, Man" appropriates the idea of homosexual romance and twists it into heterosexual humor.
This film centers on Peter (Paul Rudd), a real estate agent who has just become engaged to Zooey (Rashida Jones) and realizes he has absolutely no groomsmen to match the bevy of female friends his fiancee espouses. Peter decides to go on some "man dates" to find a best friend. After his first few attempts do not pan out, he gives up and throws himself into selling the mansion of Lou Ferrigno. There, he meets a prospective client named Sydney (Jason Segel), who eventually becomes the buddy Peter never had. However, the time Peter begins to spend with Sydney starts to compromise his happiness with Zooey, putting a strain on their relationship just weeks before the wedding. Furthermore, when Sydney's motives begin to turn questionable, Peter is put in a bind. What is a bro to do?
"I Love You, Man" is probably the funniest commercial film since "Knocked Up," and it is full of original jokes and wit certain to inspire fits of uncontrollable laughter. At the beginning of the film it seems as if the humor will rely mostly upon crude jokes, but eventually the film becomes pleasantly and surprisingly hilarious because a good deal of the humor hinges on the main characters' awkwardness.
Rudd makes an amusing main character who generates humor through his dependence on imitations of leprechauns and awkwardly constructed slang words. However, he lacks the innate charm of other major comic actors, such as Seth Rogen, so he is ultimately overshadowed by co-star Jason Segel, who falls into the character of grungy, unconventional Sydney extremely well.
"I Love You, Man" is probably the best "buddy movie" in recent memory, and it depends heavily on its quotable one-liners, hilarious situations and funny actors. For the 105 minutes "I Love You, Man" is onscreen, prepare to be entertained - the humor is enough to overlook a lack of deeper substance.
