Bill I’s Review – 3 out of 5
Quick review: pleasant, charming romantic comedy from Judd Apotow’s production group, co-written by, and co-starring, Jason Segal. Emily Blunt plays Jason’s fiance, and for various reasons their engagement is delayed, then endangered then concluded in a way I won’t give away here. Some very funny moments, and some typical plot twists. I love both of these actors, but after having recently viewed Her Sister’s Sister, where Emily Blunt also plays a similar role, where her best friend and her take years to cement their relationship, I see that The Five-Year Engagement plays it too safe and comes across as too predictable. Her Sister’s Sister is more exciting, more outrageous fun moments, and ultimately a more satisfying ending. The most obvious common thread of these two films is Emily Blunt. Her amazing ability to act without appearing to be acting, and often appear to be improvising, is enhanced by her likability and charm, and goofy laugh, making it believable that these guys fall in love with her and stay in love after years and various travails. My advice: wait until Her Sister’s Sister comes out (I saw it at Tribeca Film Fest).
Bill C’s Review – 2.5 out of 5
I thought this movie was ok but it didn’t live up to my expectations from Jason Segal and Judd Apatow (producer). I was hoping for another Forgetting Sarah Marshall (since Segal wrote that too) but I didn’t think The Five-Year Engagement was nearly as funny. As Bill points out, the film was very predictable and, while you would expect tension between the couple in a romantic comedy, there was so much here that I would have been ok if they didn’t get together at the end. I also thought the ending was a little too cutesy (is ‘cutesy’ a technical movie review term?).
The movie did have some good moments and I thought the best performance was by Chris Pratt (from Parks and Recreation) in a supporting role.
