My problems with I Love You Man revolves around the fact the movie isn't that amusing. The one liners are just fair and the humor relies mostly on shock, which explains why it's not that funny when you know it's coming.
I would say the characters are ones people can relate to. There's the boy that won't grow up, which is played convincingly by Jason Segel. He knows the life he wants, and he's living that dream, but only because he has closed himself off to what else is out there. Also, Paul Rudd's awkwardness in his search for a friend reminds me of my own uneasy time trying to make friends in college. You know you need to make friends, but you're unsure of how strong to come on and whether the other guy is that in to you. If that sounds a little gay, it's only because making friends is a pretty gay process. I mean you have to like hanging out with the other guy and find him ok to look at, it's just that you stop short of kissing on the mouth.
On the whole, though, this movie is a snoozefest. It's better than 98% of the comedies out there, but you need a high bar when Rudd and Segel are involved. I'd say in the pantheon of these types of movies it somewhere below Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Role Models, but miles ahead of Drillbit Taylor.
I really enjoy Jon Favreau in this movie. The director of "Elf" and the Iron Mans, rarely disappoints when he gets on the other side of the camera. As long as he isn't doing formulaic comedy he can be a compelling actor that makes you laugh and makes you squirm about how well he captures real life.
He is the everyman actor. A toned down version of Kevin James in both style and body type. Much credit is due to him and Jaime Pressly for their portrayal of a married couple in this movie. They capture the love/hate dynamic that I imagine characterizes many marriages.This movie is definitely worth a watch, but rent it, don't buy it. Then maybe ten years from now you can try it again.
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