Review of The Five-Year Engagement (2012) by Andrew H — 23 Dec 2012

The latest film from the Judd Apatow-produced camp is this romantic comedy gem starring Jason Segel (who also co-wrote the film) and Emily Blunt. Taking into account that Segel also wrote the hit "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," one can say that he has a talent for writing romantic comedies for guys.

Segel perfectly captures a man's perspective in a relationship nowadays, but also writes his female characters as well-rounded and honest, without any misogynistic overtones. Also, he can write very honest, and often dark aspects to a relationship while still making the story funny.

An interesting factoid to this film is that the skeevy man who is a threat to Tom (Segel) and Violet's (Blunt) relationship is a British college professor and if you listen to Segel's commentary for "Sarah Marshall," he says that originally Sarah's new boyfriend was not a rock star (Brand), but a British college professor.

It wasn't until Russell Brand came in to audition that Segel decided to rewrite the part for Brand. In this film the professor is portrayed by the wonderful Rhys Ifans (who is Welsh in real life).

All of the characters in this film are well-written, well-played -- especially by Chris Pratt (NBC's "Parks and Recreation") and Alison Brie (NBC's "Community"/AMC's "Mad Men") -- and I especially liked how the story went into a dark place, with the two characters actually separating.

I think this was a very well-done comedy that both women and men would enjoy. Segel has proved once again that he has a talent not only for being funny but also for writing.