I just saw the Paul Rudd and Jason Segel vehicle I Love You Man, and it has all sorts of Rush-related stuff. It starts with a big drumset and some Rush posters, then the main characters jam out to Tom Sawyer, and before you know it we’re at that awkward moment in a man’s life when he tries to introduce Rush to the woman he loves. There’s even a real-live Rush concert with a screaming audience. If there’s one thing I Love You Man leaves one with, it’s a sense of Rush. And it should — after all, this is a movie about dudes, and what band is more dude-centric than Rush? I mean, you meet more female Insane Clown Posse fans than Rush fans.
That alone made I Love You Man worth the price of admission. As for the movie itself, it’s fairly ok. The comedy is a bit broad, especially when you get outside the main three characters. What do I mean? Let’s go roll off the rest of the characters and their one definining trait: gay brother (Andy Samberg), gay professional guy (that shorts dude from Reno 911), blunt Juno-esque dad (Juno’s dad), generic mom (Jane Curtain –where’s she been?), desperate female friend (unknown girl), total jerkface (that guy from Swingers), total’s jerkface’s sassy jerkface wife (Joy from My Name is Earl, playing a non-hick version of Joy), scheming co-worker (that guy from Human Giant), guy with a high voice (weird guy who’s been in a bunch of stuff), and Lou Ferrigno (the man himself). The whole cast is filled with recognizable faces in cookie-cutter roles.
But when Segel and especially Rudd are able to play off each other and be complete characters, the movie succeeds. It’s very Apatow-ish, for lack of a better term, in that it tries to get at some real-life issues in the midst of the fun. It’s also filled with really specific pop-culture references, I mean even besides the parade of Rush. So enjoy that. In the end, I had the same feeling about it that I had about Pineapple Express: It’s not a total waste of time, but it’s also not as good as Knocked Up.
Oh,, and Paul Rudd is tremendous, and beautifully awkward, as a guy with no guy friends who tries to find some. It’s a problem, you know, because how do you meet people who aren’t horrible? And should that even be a concern? Can we not just all hang out together, the non-horrible ones, I mean? I’ll bring beer.
