“A hilarious bromance film! Paul Rudd and Jason Segel are just awesome as a comedy duo and a film with a wonderful supporting cast! Overall, “I LOVE YOU, MAN” is not the greatest comedy but it was highly entertaining, hilarious and 104 minutes of all-out fun! For those looking for a comedy on Blu-ray, this film is definitely recommended!”
TITLE: I LOVE YOU, MAN
DURATION: 104 minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, French/Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese
COMPANY:Â Paramount Home Entertainment
RATED: R (For Pervasive Language including Crude and Sexual References)
Release Date: August 11, 2009
Directed by John Hamburg
Based on a story by Larry Levin
Screenplay by John Hamburg and Larry Levin
Executive Produced by Jeffrey Clifford, Andrew Haas, Bill Johnson, Tom Pollock and Ivan Reitman
Produced by Donald De Line, John Hamburg
Co-Produced by Anders Bard
Music by Theodore Shapiro
Director of Photography: Lawrence Sher
Edited by William Kerr
Casting by Allison Jones
Production Design by Andrew Laws
Art Direction by Eric Sundahl
Set Decoration by Christopher Carlson
Costume Design by Leesa Evans
Starring:
Paul Rudd as Peter Klaven
Jason Segel as Sydney Fife
Rashida Jones as Zooey
Sarah Burns as Hailey
Jaime Pressly as Denise
Jon Favreau as Barry
Jane Curtin as Joyce Klaven
J.K. Simmons as Oswald Klaven
Andy Samberg as Robbie Klaven
Lou Ferrigno as himself
In this wildly funny hit comedy, Paul Rudd (KNOCKED UP) gets engaged to the girl of his dreams but has not a single guy friend to be his Best Man until he meets the ultimate dude, Jason Segal (FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL). Rudd and Segal’s “bro-mance†takes male-bonding to hilarious new heights that keep you laughing until the unforgettable last frame.
In 2009, the bromance film known as “I LOVE YOU, MAN” was well-received by the critics and further establishing the comedic careers of Paul Rudd (“Knocked Up”, “Night at the Museum”, “The 40 Year Old Virgin and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) and Jason Segel (“How I Met Your Mother”, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Knocked Up”). The two have worked together in several well-known comedy films and as David Spade and Chris Farley were in the 90’s, both Rudd and Segel are managing to do quite well as a duo today.
The film is written and directed by John Hamburg (“Along Came Polly”, “Meet the Parents”, Meet the Fockers” and “Zoolander”) and co-written by Larry Levin (“It’s Garry Shandling’s Show”, “Seinfeld” and the first two “Doctor Dolittle” films). The film’s music is composed by Theodore Shapiro (“Mr. Woodcock”, “Semi-Pro” and “Marley & Me”) and cinematography by Lawrence Sher (“Garden State”, “Legally Blonde” and “The Dukes of Hazzard”).
But what is most impressive about “I Love You, Man” is its supporting cast which include Rashida Jones (“The Office”, “Wanted” and “Parks and Recreation”), Jaime Pressly (“My Name is Earl” and “Joe Dirt”), Jon Favreau (“Iron Man”, “Elf”, “The Replacements” and “Daredevil”), Jane Curtin (“Crumbs”, “3rd Rock from the Sun” and “Saturday Night Live”), J.K. Simmons (“Spider-Man” films, “The Closer” and “Juno”) and Andy Samberg (“Saturday Night Live”, “Nick & Norah’s Infinity Playlist” and “Hot Rod”).
The film revolves around Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd), a guy who has many girlfriends (literally female friends) and doesn’t really have any guy friends. He’s getting married to Zooey (Rashida Jones) and as a real estate agent, he’s hoping he can sell Lou Ferrigno’s (yes, the Incredible Hulk Lou Ferrigno who is playing himself) home in order to buy land to build his home for him and Zooey.
But when Peter overhears Zooey talking to her female friends Denise (Jaime Pressley) and Hailey (Sarah Burns) and other women during her bachelorette party that he doesn’t have any guy friends and not sure who he can find to be a best man, he may need to resort in having to find a family member to be his best man. Hearing this, Peter is devastated, moreso because its true.
So, Peter goes on a quest to find a guy who could be his best man but also be a guy friend. From trying to make friends through fencing, listening to his gay brother Robbie (Andy Samberg) give him brotherly advice, making friends with a gay man and even try to find male friends through Zooey’s best friend’s like Denise’s husband Barry (Jon Favreau) and getting him into beer and poker.
Unfortunately, Peter doesn’t seem to be clicking with any of them, that is until at a real estate viewing at Lou Ferrigno’s home, he meets Sydney Fife (Jason Segel).
The two then develop a bromance and Peter becomes part of Sydney’s life, playing instruments and attending a RUSH concert and bringing out a side of him that he never knew he had. But Sydney is not your typical guy either, in fact, there may be something quite unstable about him.
“I LOVE YOU, MAN” is literally a movie about men needing to do some soul searching and despite the lack of manners of Peter’s odd new friend, perhaps Sydney is what Peter needs and giving him the opportunity to have a whole new outlook on life.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“I LOVE YOU, MAN” is presented in 1080p High Definition. The picture quality is vibrant and outdoor and also indoor scenes are full of color. Fine detail is quite good boasting well-defined edges and revealing the textures from the home of Peter and Zooey to the instruments and products inside Sydney’s home. But it’s the beauty of what we see outdoors, at the beach and throughout Los Angeles, just a great job of capturing that Angelino life courtesy of Director of Photography Lawrence Sher.
Skintones are well-done, black levels are good and picture quality is sharp, clear and overall a film to expect a broad spectrum of colors. I didn’t notice any artifacting or banding or source noise as well.
As for the audio, “I LOVE YOU, MAN” is presented in English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD (and also French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital). The soundtrack featured is dialogue driven and is crisp and clear and for the most part, the film is front and center channel driven. If anything, most bass will come from the music segments. From the RUSH concert or musical soundtrack, this is not a film to expect an aggressive mix but there are some scenes such as Peter and Sydney jamming on the guitar and bass which come alive through your system. But for the most part, the film is a dialogue-driven film.
As for subtitles, the film is presented in English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“I LOVE YOU, MAN” comes with the following special features:
“I LOVE YOU, MAN” was an enjoyable and hilarious bromance film.
It’s one of those films where a guy will know people similar to the character of Peter, a guy typically with mostly female friends and hardly any guy friends. Granted, the character and bromance between Peter and Sydney is a bit more extreme but for the most part, I have had friends who have been in similar situations as these characters and thus, I found those situations quite hilarious and fun!
Both Paul Rudd and Jason Segel have developed a good chemistry for comedy films.  Several years ago, I was raving about Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd but as of late, Rudd and Segel are are a good pairing. Both having worked on “Knocked Up” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, those familiar with those two films can easily know what kind of antics and craziness they will get with “I LOVE YOU, MAN”.
Also, “I LOVE YOU, MAN” sports an awesome supporting cast. I have always wanted to see more of Rashida Jones (“The Office”) and it was great to see her in a major role like this. Also, to see Jaime Pressly, Jon Favreau, Jane Curtin, J.K. Simmons and Andy Samberg all together in one film was also very cool! If anything, I just enjoyed the sincerity and realness of both Zooey and Peter but then you have this cast around them that are a bit off.  Everything just worked.
Even certain man talk from the observance of a guy’s reaction (during the real estate showing). Another example, is Peter who tries to say something in Jamaican but it all comes out Irish or another small instance of Peter asking for his DVD box set back for a copy of “LOST” Season 2. There are just these small things that just make you smile because these are normal day things that people experience that you just don’t see in film. So, I enjoyed that!
And the Blu-ray High Definition transfer also added to the enjoyability of the film because the transfer looks pretty awesome and although this is not a film that utilizes extensive sound effects, the lossless audio track was pretty solid for a comedy film like “I LOVE YOU, MAN”. And of course, the special features included.. it’s great to see the improvisational cuts and seeing how creative the talent got to be with their words.
Overall, “I LOVE YOU, MAN” is not the greatest comedy but it was highly entertaining, hilarious and 104 minutes of all-out fun! For those looking for a comedy on Blu-ray, this film is definitely recommended!