Paul Rudd and Jason Segel in I Love You, Man (Dreamworks)
By Janeane White
I Love You, Man (opened March 20 throughout San Diego) is a funny movie about a guy named & Peter (Paul Rudd) that has proposed to Zooey, the girl of his dreams, and realized he has no real guy friends to have as his best man in the wedding. & Zooey and her friends believe it's creepy that Peter doesn't have any male friends and think that he may become clingy. Peter overhears the girls' conversation and becomes desperate to find a best guy friend. Peter seeks his gay younger brother for help in attracting a straight guy for a friend. His brother says that he needs to go on a "man date" and try to make friends before the wedding. Peter tries out a few guys. One thinks he's gay and makes a move on him. Finally, while Peter is at work (he works for a real estate company and was showing Lou Ferrigno's house) Sydney (Jason Segel) walks in and brightens his day. He tells Peter the showing is great, loves the food, and even entertains him by predicting that one of the guests needs to fart but doesn't want to in front of his hot lady friend. Peter gets a good laugh out of the play-by-play that Sydney provides. They exchange business cards and go on about their business. Later Peter calls Sydney and leaves a ridiculous message on his answering machine because he wants to hang out but is nervous to ask him. One thing leads to another and they become inseparable.
This movie was strangely very funny. There were plenty of scenes where there were awkward moments between the guys. Peter is very shy and likes to keep to himself whereas Sydney is very outgoing and open about everything in his life. When the two guys start to hang out Peter isn't sure exactly what he should say or do. So he says some crazy things that make no sense because he wants to try to sound cool in front of his new bud. Sydney understands Peter's uneasiness and helps him fit in more with his world. When they become really good friends Sydney helps further Peter's career by advertising for him and when Lou Ferrigno decides to go behind Peter's back and find someone else to sell his house; Sydney decides to take action and gets into a fight with The Incredible Hulk.
I loved how the two men bonded so quickly and how they truly watched out and helped each other. I also thought it was cool that Peter gets another chance to act like a kid and have a guy friend that he can party with, be in a band with, and go to concerts with and other fun stuff that he didn't do as a kid because he hung out with girls. I feel that friendship is important and I'm glad that Peter finally got to find his true friend that will always be there for him. I think that everyone should have a best friend and this movie is a good example of just how hard and awkward it may be to find a friend when you wait till after you are already out of school. I think everyone should see this movie. It was funny and very close to what might happen in real life.
I Love You, Man is rated R for pervasive language, including crude and sexual references.
--Janeane White is a senior at Mount Miguel High School. She enjoys movies and spends all her time at the theater. She is also interested in special effects makeup done in the movies. She is an honors student and is currently working towards early graduation. Some of her favorite movies include Queen of the Damned, Hellboy, The Descent, the Underworld series, and the Saw series.
