The Five-Year Engagement (FILM REVIEW)
The Five-Year Engagement
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Wedding Delays Strain Relationship in Raunchy Romantic Comedy
This
underwhelming sitcom has been heavily promoted as “From the producer of Bridesmaids,” as if to imply that
Judd Apatow has a golden touch that ensures the success of any movie project
he’s blessed. However, the undisputed King of Crude has been associated with
just about as many flops (ala Wanderlust and Year One) as hits (like Superbad and
Knocked Up).
Unfortunately, The Five-Year Engagement fits more in the former category than the
latter. Remember how the hilarious Bridesmaids kept you howling from begging to
end in spite of yourself? Well, don’t expect to laugh out loud even once while watching
this relatively-funereal, two-hour endurance test.
Yes,
the film does certainly trade in all of the anticipated Apatow staples, if that
sophomoric brand of humor suits your taste. There’s the gratuitous male nudity,
the coarse jokes with profanity serving as punch lines (“Suck my bleeping
bleep!”), and such suggestive sight gags as a character simulating sex by gyrating
his hips behind a carrot dipped in whipped cream. Much of this comic relief
arrives courtesy of an ethnically-diverse support team comprised of an Asian
(Randall Park), an East Indian (Mindy Kaling) and an African-American (Kevin
Hart).
Besides
the skits falling flat, the tortoise-paced picture has bigger problems in an
abysmal script and romantic leads with no screen chemistry. The oil-and-water casting
of loose cannon Jason Segel opposite prim-and-proper Emily Blunt has disaster
written all over it.
His
Tom Solomon’s a Sous-chef who dreams of opening a restaurant in San Francisco, while her Violet Barnes is a recent Ph.D.
with hopes of landing a teaching position at Berkeley in Psychology. Just past the opening
credits, she accepts his marriage proposal and puts on the ring, although they both
agree that it might be wise to delay tying the knot until their careers have
had a chance to blossom. That decision doesn’t sit well with their aging
relatives, but at least it means they won’t have to decide right away whether
to be married by a minister or a rabbi.
As
time passes, the protagonists find additional excuses to postpone the nuptials,
like when her sister Suzie (Alison Brie) is left pregnant after a one-night stand
with his best friend, Alex (Chris Pratt). Eventually, Violet and Tom drift so
far apart that it’s not much of a surprise when she sleeps with the head of her
department (Rhys Ifans) or when he’s seduced behind the salad bar by a cute,
young co-worker (Dakota Johnson).
“Can
this relationship be saved?” may be the burning question. But don’t expect to
care when you’ve never really been asked to invest emotionally in such an unsympathetic
pair of hesitant hedonists.
Make
it stop!
Fair (1 star)
Rated R for sexuality, nudity, coarse humor and pervasive profanity.
Running time: 124 minutes
Distributor: Universal
Pictures
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