| I Love You, Man | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | John Hamburg |
| Produced by | Donald De Line John Hamburg |
| Screenplay by | John Hamburg Larry Levin |
| Story by | Larry Levin |
| Starring | Paul Rudd Jason Segel Rashida Jones Jaime Pressly Sarah Burns Andy Samberg J. K. Simmons Jane Curtin Jon Favreau |
| Music by | Theodore Shapiro |
| Cinematography | Lawrence Sher |
| Editing by | William Kerr |
| Studio | De Line Pictures The Montecito Picture Company |
| Distributed by | DreamWorks Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 20, 2009 |
| Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $40 million |
| Box office | $91,636,986[1] |
I Love You, Man is a 2009 American comedy film originally titled Let's be Friends and written by Larry Levin before John Hamburg rewrote and directed the film. Starring Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, and Rashida Jones the film focuses on Peter's (Rudd) lack of male friends and the bond that forms between him and Sydney (Segel).
The film was released theatrically in North America on March 20, 2009, to mostly positive reviews [2] and took second spot in the box office during its opening week (to Knowing). The film was released on home video on August 11, 2009.
Contents |
Peter Klaven, a real estate agent, just got engaged to Zooey Rice. Zooey is ecstatic about the engagement and calls her friends to tell them about it, but Peter does not seem to have anyone special he'd like to share the good news with. While visiting his parents, it comes out that Peter is more adept at getting along with women, instead of having any male friends. After overhearing Zooey's friends voice their concerns over the matter, Peter realizes he needs to find male friends in order to have a best man for his wedding.
Peter attempts to go on "man dates" with several men, which all end in failure, due to his general lack of knowledge as regards to "being a man". He even joins Denise's husband, Barry, and his friends for his poker night. Being cold, bossy, foul-mouthed, and mean-spirited, Barry doesn't much like Peter in the first place, and kicks him out after he wins a beer-drinking contest and inadvertantly projectile-vomits on him.
Feeling rejected, Peter is about to give up, when during an open house at Lou Ferrigno's mansion, he meets Sydney Fife, an investor who (admittedly) is attending the showing simply to pick up divorced women. The two hit it off very well, despite having different personalities, and exchange business cards. Later, Peter calls Sydney, and they go out for drinks.
The two continue to hang out more, and Sydney eventually invites Peter into his "man cave," a space in his garage where he keeps a big-screen TV, his collection of musical instruments, and various other belongings. Peter and Sydney quickly bond over their mutual fanhood of the band Rush, and start meeting frequently for jam sessions. Peter finally introduces Sydney to Zooey at their engagement party, but Zooey's opinion of Sydney sours when he makes a very awkward and inappropriate toast (referring to Zooey's dislike of performing oral sex on Peter).
The next night, Peter is watching TV with Zooey, when Sydney calls and talks Peter into going to see Rush live. Hesitant to break his plans, Peter reluctantly agrees to go on the condition that he can bring Zooey. During the concert, Peter and Sydney bond, leaving Zooey to feel ignored. The next day, while shopping for tuxedos, Sydney asks Peter why he is marrying Zooey, and also asks for an $8,000 loan. After some thought, Peter decides to loan Sydney the money, and later grants him the honor of best man at his wedding.
Zooey, meanwhile, has become suspicious of Sydney, especially after he gets into a fight with Lou Ferrigno, possibly causing Peter to lose exclusive sales rights to Ferrigno's house. Peter tells Zooey that he lent Sydney money and asks her if she knows why they are getting married. Hurt and angry, Zooey leaves to stay at her friend's house.
When Peter leaves for work that next morning, he learns that Sydney has used the $8,000 loan to purchase several ridiculous billboard advertisements for Peter's real estate business. Peter confronts Sydney, and decides to end their friendship. Peter then patches things up with Zooey, explaining to her that he is nervous but ready to get married.
Peter discovers that Sydney's billboards worked after he starts receiving more clients and offers on the Ferrigno house. Peter feels bad about fighting with Sydney but doesn't re-invite Sydney to the wedding. Instead, he orchestrates an array of random groomsmen that include his brother Robbie, father Oswald, former "man dates" Doug, Lonnie, Mel and also Lou Ferrigno. Before the wedding, Zooey sees Peter looking sad, clearly missing his friend. So she calls and invites Sydney, who is, unbeknownst to them, already on his way to the wedding. Just before the vows are to be taken, Sydney makes a dramatic entrance. He informs Peter and Zooey that he is, in fact, a successful investor and returns the money he borrowed from Peter, stating that the billboards were the couple's wedding present. Peter and Zooey declare their love to each other, and Sydney assumes the role of best man.
| "I really wrote my own version of the script, so my version was always going to be R-rated. I wanted to discuss sex, I wanted to discuss - there were blowjobs in the movie, there was Sydney Fife's character who's no way he could live in a PG-13 universe. It wasn't like trying to be raunchy or gratuitous, it was just like, I think most people live in an R-rated world."" — John Hamburg, Director/Co-Writer/Producer[3] |
The script, Let's be Friends, was originally written by Larry Levin.[4] It was purchased but went unused for about eleven years before the film was made.[5] Hamburg was offered the script and kept turning it down, but after his friends moved to L.A. he was inspired by the experience of trying to meet more friends to give it a shot. When Hamburg finally took the script he rewrote it to make it as real as possible.[3] The film was originally announced in December 2007, with production originally scheduled for March 2008.[6] In March 2008, Variety revealed that producer Ivan Reitman's Montecito Pictures officially began production on I Love You, Man during the week of March 31, 2008.[7]
I Love You, Man is the third collaboration between Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, following the Judd Apatow projects Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, while writer/director John Hamburg previously worked with Segel on Apatow's Undeclared television series.[8] It only took one lunch to get Segel and Rudd to sign on to do the film and this set the stage for other actors to sign on.[9] On February 13, 2008 it was announced that Rashida Jones would be in the female lead opposite Rudd.[10] Later, in an interview with firstshowing.net, Jones revealed that because Segel and Rudd were already attached to the project she "knew immediately that it was gonna be even funnier than I would think."[11] At the beginning of the March 31, 2008 week, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Jaime Pressly had joined the film's cast, playing the best friend of Rashida Jones' character.[12] Hamburg comically stated that he was lucky in casting J.K. Simmons because his contract states "he has to be in one out of every four movies made."[13] Jon Favreau started working on the film the same week Iron Man came out, a film which he directed. He said he "probably wouldn't have agreed to have done it had I known my life was going to be that shape", but Iron Man star Robert Downey, Jr. told him that "It is the best thing you could do" — he said 'chop wood, carry water,' which is what they do in the Kung Fu movies to keep you humble."[14]
One of Anwar Sadat's daughters has filed a lawsuit against the filmmakers because, in the film, Sydney names his dog after her father, and explains that the dog resembles the late Egyptian president. Samir Sabri, the lawyer in the case, has asked the US embassy to apologize. Complaints have been raised by Egyptian bloggers as well.[15]
Rush was approached by Hamburg, who is a fan, to appear in the film. Even though the band does not normally perform in movies, they decided to do it. The shooting schedule was tough because there was a one day window between two of their concerts on tour. The band later said the whole experience was fun.[16] Hamburg felt that "once Rush got that I wasn't poking fun at them, that I'm genuinely a fan and the main characters of the movie are fans and it's kind of a loving tribute to them, I think that's when they came on board."[17] Subsequently, both Rudd and Segel appeared in character as Peter and Sydney alongside the members of Rush in a short video which closes the band's 2010-11 Time Machine Tour shows.[18]
I Love You, Man received largely positive reviews that mostly centered on the chemistry between Rudd and Segel, as well as the supporting performances.
The film review website Rotten Tomatoes gave it an overall approval rating of 83%,[19] with selected critics giving it an 86% approval rating.[20] Metacritic gave it a critic average score of 70.[21] Giving the film three out of four stars, Peter Travers with Rolling Stone said that despite the formulaic plot, "It's the variations that Rudd and Segel spin on this theme that make the movie hugely enjoyable." He also praised the supporting cast.[22] Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A, and said that "Paul Rudd gives a startlingly funny and original performance."[23] USA Today gave the film a glowing review, stating "the movie works because everything hinges on the camaraderie and undeniable chemistry between Rudd and Segel."[24] More conservatively, People magazine said the movie "sails along on goodwill and blush-worthy bawdiness," but concluded that "like instant chocolate pudding, it goes down easy — even if it isn't especially good for you."[25]
The film was not without its critics, however. Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor was not impressed with the film, and after noting that the character Sydney seemed to be written for Owen Wilson, Rainer remarked, "Maybe Wilson was busy. Lucky him."[26] The Colorado Daily described the relationship between the male leads as a "watered-down false bromance", noting that the pace of their relationship seemed "rushed", and that Peter was looking out for his wife rather than his best friend.[27]
In its U.S. opening weekend, the film made $17,810,270 in 2,711 theaters, ranking number two at the box office. The film grossed $71,440,011 domestically and $20,196,975 internationally making $91,636,986 worldwide. I Love You, Man was able to stay in the box office top ten for five weeks. This places it at number 27 of films released in 2009.[1]
The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on August 11, 2009 in the US and August 24, 2009 in Europe and as of November 2009 generated more than $22 million in DVD sales. I Love You, Man was ranked number two in sales during its opening week and declined from there.[28] The DVD extras contains an hour and a half of content including a full performance of "Limelight." [29]
The film has been nominated for Best Kiss for the 2009 MTV Movie Awards for the smooch between Thomas Lennon's character Doug and Rudd's Peter, but lost to Twilight.[30] It was also nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding Film - Wide Release" during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards.[31]
| I Love You, Man | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |||
| Released | March 17, 2009 | ||
| Length | 49:11 | ||
| Label | Lakeshore Records | ||
| Producer | Theodore Shapiro | ||
| Professional reviews | |||
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| Track # | Title | Performer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Good Times" | Latch Key Kid | 2:30 |
| 2 | "Oxford Comma" | Vampire Weekend | 3:15 |
| 3 | "Tom Sawyer" | Rush | 4:35 |
| 4 | "Set You Free" | The Black Keys | 2:45 |
| 5 | "Lights Out" | Santogold | 3:12 |
| 6 | "Soul of a Man" | Beck | 2:37 |
| 7 | "Limelight" | Rush | 4:20 |
| 8 | "Good Times Roll" | The Cars | 3:47 |
| 9 | "Campus" | Vampire Weekend | 2:56 |
| 10 | "Mr. Pitiful" | Matt Costa | 2:55 |
| 11 | "Dancing With Myself" | The Donnas | 3:28 |
| 12 | "Waterslide" | The Bonedaddys | 3:54 |
| 13 | "Limelight" | Paul Rudd & Jason Segel | 4:22 |
| 14 | "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" | Dean Martin | 2:26 |
| 15 | "Peter and Zooey" | Teddy Shapiro | 2:17 |
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