Review of Someone Marry Barry (2014) by Lawrence W — 01 Sep 2014

You know that embarrassingly juvenile friend you can not shake? Magnify him by a thousand and you get Barry.

His three friends can not take it anymore and think if he just found someone then they could be rid of him. And that's how you get: Someone Marry Barry.

It's not that Desmond, Rafe and Kurt hate Barry. They just don't want to be active friends with him anymore. Their camp mate friendship with the 'inappropriate dude' from elementary school doesn't justify a friendship that should have faded away long ago.

Barry is not necessarily a bad guy, he is just an "embarrassment, a detriment to [their] livelihood and reputations, a social wrecking ball." Tyler Labine is pivotal to the success of this movie, his likeability makes Barry's antics not completely intolerable and at times endearingly oblivious. Labine plays the crudest, lewdest, bluntest character imaginable but the film isn't at all cheap or grotesque. His friends, played by Wayans, MacArthur, Middleditch. are not malicious and the search for Barry's mate comes from a place of desperation and love; keeping the film light and entertaining. Damon Wayans Jr. is the comedic star of the trio and I can't wait to watch his career progress.

All plot points and scenarios are sufficiently ridiculous for a comedy but written by Rob Pearlstein to be cohesive with the story. Someone Marry Barry is about a crass man meeting his equal and opposite in a mate so the humor is offensive and perverted by nature.

After Barry meets his love interest Mel, played by Lucy Punch, the film slows down significantly. The main source of entertainment and humor, the friend dynamic and their interaction, changes with the addition of Mel and 'find him love' dilemma removal.

Someone Marry Barry is a unique and refreshingly light comedy but is not for everyone.