I don't know why, but I've never been a fan of the romantic comedy genre in films. It would seem like I'm a target demographic, but I'm more likely to look for the more action and adventure oriented fare.
Which is why I was surprised by how much I looked forward to watching The Five-Year Engagement.
Tom Solomon (Jason Segel) and Violet Barnes (Emily Blunt) are seemingly perfect for each other, which is why it's no surprise that they end up engaged. But their wedding plans are immediately disrupted when Tom's best friend Alex Eilhauer (Chris Pratt) ended up marrying Violet's sister Suzy (Alison Brie), after the latter got pregnant after their one night stand at Tom and Violet's engagement party. Their wedding is further delayed when Violet is accepted at a doctorate psychology program, headed by Winton Childs (Rhys Ifans). Unfortunately, the program is in the Michigan, which led to Tom deciding to leave his successful career as a sous chef in San Francisco to be with Violet.
What follows is a series of events that would continuously hamper the couple's plans of getting married. This is the part when the film digresses from being a pure comedy confection into a more serious look of how even the most compatible of couples could end up in various states of negative emotions, albeit being funny in the process (it is a comedy film after all).
As I have previously mentioned, I'm not much of a romantic comedy type of girl, but there was something about the Jason Segel and Emily Blunt tandem that totally appealed to me. Or I'm just really in the middle of a burgeoning Emily Blunt girl crush state of mind. Whichever the reason, I felt excited every time I saw the trailer or the behind the scenes specials that they were running all the time on E! Asia.
The film works for me because of different factors. First, the onscreen chemistry between the two leads is great, which is pretty much the benchmark of the film. And this chemistry works even when the couple are at odds, making the audience empathize with their plight and making us all wonder why the hell do they have to go through all those challenges when they're just so perfect for one another. Second, Chris Pratt and Alison Brie are awesome, as are the rest of the supporting cast who range from the serious to the hilarious. Third, while the film featured the signature raunchy humor of Judd Apatow produced movies, it didn't feature the physical comedy that I hate, which usually involved getting the characters in embarrassing situations. While the humor in The Five-Year Engagement still involves getting the characters in silly situations, it's not the gross out type that I usually avoid when watching comedy films. Although, I am now afraid of shiraicha in the hands of drunken girls.
There's really not much more to say, since revealing any more would end up ruining the movie for you. Because it's important for you to find out what happened during that five-year engagement in order to understand why it's important to tell the story of... well, the five-year engagement.
I had expected funny, but what I got and wasn't expecting was a degree of bittersweetness in the storytelling, which turned out to be just right for the film.
I had expected a straightforward love story, but what I got and wasn't expecting was a lesson of how it can be difficult and how things sometimes just don't end up the way you hope, no matter how much of a supportive partner you are.
And I had expected to enjoy watching Jason Segel and Emily Blunt play a couple who are great together, but what I got and wasn't expecting was officially declaring my girl crush on Emily Blunt.
Okay... I was kind of expecting the last one.
Happy viewing!!Labels: Comedy, Film, Romance, The Five-Year Engagement
