Nordling here.
After THE MUPPETS, where could Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller go? Back to the romantic comedy, apparently. THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT is produced by Judd Apatow, which means it's probably about 15 minutes too long, but who's complaining? Seeing most romantic comedies these days is like pulling teeth. But Segel and Stoller have made another engaging movie, at times hilarious and charming, and with a great supporting cast that pinch-hits perfectly when the main story starts to drag.
The stealth weapon of THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT isn't Stoller's direction (which is good) or Segel and Stoller's screenplay (also good). No, it's Emily Blunt, who has a radiance and an innate talent that movies don't get to show us very often. She has an ability to make other actors and actresses who work with her bring their A-game. The chemistry Blunt has with Matt Damon in THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU is the best thing about that movie, and she brings that same chemistry to THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT. Chemistry is a very elusive thing, and when actors working together don't have that click, it turns a movie into a real chore. But Emily Blunt has that magical ability with other actors that even though in real life you'd never believe that Blunt would end up with a lovable schlub like Jason Segel's Tom Solomon, here in this movie it's perfectly acceptable and it works.
Tom Solomon (Segel) isn't another lazy manchild like many of the male characters in the Apatowverse - he's actually an ambitious chef in San Francisco, successful at his job and living the dream of doing what he loves. When he meets Violet (Blunt) at a New Year's Eve party, dressed in a bunny costume (and she as Princess Diana), they hit it off instantly. It's a storybook romance that culminates in Tom proposing to Violet at the restaurant that he works at, and their engagement seems to be on track.
But Violet is soon offered an assistant position at the University of Michigan, working for professor Winton Childs (Rhys Ifans), and it's the chance that she's been waiting for in her career. Tom loves Violet immensely, and so he decides to wait for Violet and move to Michigan to be with her while she works. But a couple of years turns into much longer, and soon the length of time that Violet works begins to test their relationship.
Segel plays another lovable doofus, but this time with a twist - at the beginning of the film he's a go-getter and ambitious, but when he moves with Violet he slowly turns into a slouch with little ambition except to grow his unusual facial hair, knit sweaters with weird art on them, and go deer hunting. He sees his own personal decline but feels helpless to stop it because to live the life he truly wants he'd have to leave Violet. He finds a job making sandwiches at a local deli, but it's not what he dreams of doing with his life. Meanwhile Violet finds herself becoming attracted to Childs, and while she wants her career, she feels her relationship with Tom going downhill.
THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT could do with a little trimming in the midsection, but even when the film drags a bit the supporting cast (most of whom look like they come straight out of NBC's Thursday night comedy roster) kicks the movie back into gear. Alison Brie (COMMUNITY) plays Violet's sister Suzie who ends up marrying Tom's best friend Alex (Chris Pratt) and they are both wonderful. All of the supporting cast, including Ifans, Brian Posehn, Kevin Hart, David Paymer, Jacki Weaver, and Mindy Kaling, are terrific and cary the movie during the rougher patches. Personally, I think more movies could use Brian Posehn and Kevin Hart in them.
While the movie's ideas of relationships aren't strictly fantasy, THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT does seem to gloss over the harder aspects of what makes relationships work. But this is a comedy, after all, and the movie knows when to play Tom and Violet's relationship troubles for laughs and when to take them seriously. But there's a sweet nature to the movie that's hard to ignore - you want the best for Tom and Violet, even when they can't seem to make it work no matter how hard they try, and that's due to the performances of Segel and Blunt together. Again, you can't fake chemistry, and these two have it when they are onscreen. They play real people with real problems, and while the movie sugarcoats it a bit it tells enough of the truth about difficult relationship situations that the movie always feels honest.
Nicholas Stoller is a terrific comedic director, with FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, GET HIM TO THE GREEK, and this. He knows when to be outrageous and when to be real and emotional, and THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT does both equally well. It's a sweet, charming comedy, and as far as date movies go, you won't be able to do much better than this. Next weekend, THE AVENGERS will obviously dominate the box office, but as far as this weekend goes, THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT is worth the time, money, and laughs.
