“I Love You, Man” (2009)
I Love You, Man is a decent, if uneven, comedy about Peter Klaven (Peter Rudd) and his lack of close male friends. His father and his brother are best friends, his fencing buddies are having a bachelor party for a guy he didn’t even know was getting married, and where is he going to find groomsmen, much less a best man, once he gets engaged?
At a real-estate open house, Klaven meets Sidney Fife (Jason Segal), a straight-talking, easy-going guy. A friendship soon develops as they bond over food and their love of the band Rush. Soon Peter starts fighting with his fiancee, Zoe (Rashida Jones), though, and things don’t go quite as planned.
This is for fans of Rudd and Segal, and fans of improv-type awkward comedy. Some of the scenes and lines are cringe inducing, yet many are hilarious.
Sydney Fife: You get home safe, Pistol.
Peter Klaven: You got it, Joben.
Sydney Fife: I’m sorry, what?
Peter Klaven: Er… nothing.
Sydney Fife: No, what did you say?
Peter Klaven: Nah, I don’t know… You nicknamed me Pistol, and I just called you… “Joben”… It means nothing… I don’t… I’m drunk… I’m gonna call a cab.
There are great supporting parts with Jon Favreau and Jaime Pressley as a constantly bickering couple, JK Simmons as Paul Rudd’s dad (even though he’s only 14 years older than Rudd) and Andy Samberg as Rudd’s gay brother, Robbie. It’s good, not great, but I laughed out loud many times.