Director Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel first worked
together on the short-lived television series Undeclared, which was produced by Judd Apatow. They firmly
established themselves in feature film with their smash-hit comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Though
Stoller worked with Segel again on "The Muppets," he was only a
writer and executive producer with James Bobin of Flight of the Conchords fame directing. The Five-Year Engagement is their first official follow-up to Sarah Marshall as they once again
explore the volatile minefield that is the adult relationship.
Five-Year Engagement
begins where most romantic comedies end with the proposal. Tom Solomon (Segel)
is a successful sous chef making a name for himself in the trendy restaurant
scene of San Francisco. He's been dating psychology student Violet Barnes
(Emily Blunt) for a year and pops the question during a romantic rooftop dinner
with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. A wedding date is set and
invitations are sent out, but things hit a snag when Violet gets accepted into
the post-doctorate program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. They
decide to move to the Wolverine State and postpone the nuptials until she
receives her degree in two years.
Violet rises through the ranks of grad students after
proposing an experiment to study self-control issues with stale donuts (an
offshoot of the Stanford marshmallow experiment) that serves as an obvious
metaphor. On the flip side, Tom has a miserable time dealing with the cold
weather and lack of job prospects. He's stuck making sandwiches at a deli. The
couple drifts further and further apart as the audience wonders whether or not
these wacky kids will eventually tie the knot.
Of course, they do, which shouldn't come as a shock unless
you've never seen a movie before. While the parts have been rearranged, the
underlying spine of the film remains true to formula. As stated in the title,
we know it will take Tom and Violet five years before they can enjoy wedded
bliss. However, sometimes it's the journey that counts and not so much the
destination. The Five-Year Engagement
takes a meandering route towards the conclusion and falls into the trap of many
Apatow productions by just being too long. The movie runs over two hours all
while the story is crying out for a peppier pace.
Segel and Blunt have previously played romantic interests in
the embarrassingly bad Jack Black vehicle, Gulliver's
Travels. Luckily, they get better material here and display an easy
chemistry with each other. The script is even keeled and doesn't paint either
one of them as the villain in the relationship. However, they are written
rather blandly until the comedy is ratcheted up into slapstick realm. At one
point, Tom descends into a self-pitying spiral to the point he's grown
muttonchops and shuffles around in a bunny suit.
Engagement scores
major points thanks to a supporting cast flush with talented performers. First
and foremost are Chris Pratt as Tom's best friend, Alex, and Alison Brie as
Violet's younger sister, Suzie. Their impulsive affair acts as a counterpoint
to the cautious relationship of the protagonists. Pratt is the overgrown
man-child that is the classic Apatow archetype, but he's a nice guy deep down
and not nearly as dim as the character he plays on Parks and Recreation. Though it's disconcerting to hear Brie speak
with a British accent, she displays the same comedic gifts that have made her a
hit on Community. Pratt and Brie also
have great chemistry together and it almost makes you wish the movie had been
about them instead. Brie and Blunt participate in the picture's most inspired
gag in which they argue in the voices of Elmo and Cookie Monster. Second place
goes to a running joke where the passage of time is marked by the death of one
of Violet's grandparents.
Another NBC alumnus Mindy Kaling shines as one of Violet's
fellow grad students along with Kevin Hart, Randall Park, and Rhys Ifans as
their professor. Some of the funniest lines come from Tom's new Michigan
friends, Brian Posehn as a geeky co-worker with an encyclopedic knowledge of
pickles and Chris Parnell as a domesticated husband teaches Tom the delights of
deer hunting and knitting. Rounding out the ensemble are Academy Award nominee
Jacki Weaver as Violet's mom, David Paymer & Mimi Kennedy as Tom's
parents, and Dakota Johnson as
a young and sexy party girl. Plus, watch out for cameos by Kumail Nanjiani,
Molly Shannon, and Tim Heidecker from Tim
& Eric's Awesome Show.
The Five-Year
Engagement could have benefited from some judicious editing and a quicker
pace. Also, anyone thinking this will be as rambunctious as Bridesmaids may be in for a disappointment. Still, the winning cast
and some humorous moments sprinkled throughout make it a notch above the standard
rom-coms.
Rating: ** (*****)
