Bruce Willis, step aside. Arnold Schwarzenegger, go home. Sylvester Stallone, give it up. There’s a new male hero for the movies: Jason Segal. The star of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “I Love You, Man” demonstrates more muscle and manly resolve in his new movie than Mr. Die Hard, the Terminator and Rambo could ever hope to muster. How else could I describe the experience of waiting five years to marry actress Emily Blunt?
Just one look into Blunt’s warm eyes and captivating smile would turn even a short engagement into an agonizing test of endurance. But Segal goes the distance, and deserves applause. This month, when audiences are caught up in the explosive exploits of the Avengers, I will be thinking of Segal telling Blunt he’s OK with them putting off their wedding so she can work on her thesis. Top that, Iron Man!
I enjoyed “The Five-Year Engagement,” largely because of the chemistry of its co-stars. Within moments of Blunt and Segal appearing onscreen, I believed the stunningly beautiful Violet was head-over-heels in love with the doughy, lumbering Tom. I could see it in the warm and unaffecting way she looked at him, talked with him and touched him.
And I believed Tom had made it easy for Violet to fall for him. He’s charming, sincere and good at making her laugh.
Blunt and Segal sustain their chemistry as Violet and Tom go from puppy dogs and roses to the stink and mess of real life. It’s easy to proclaim your undying love when things are going well, but what happens when your plans get tossed into a Cuisinart? Blunt and Segal never drop a beat as their characters wrestle with big choices and a loss of direction. When Violet and Tom reach the breaking point, the chemistry between Blunt and Segal remains strong.
At the heart of “The Five-Year Engagement” is a perceptive story about the implications of sharing your life with another person. Tom is a talented sous chef on track to become a head chef in San Francisco, while Violet is hoping to secure a post-doctorate position at the University of Michigan. The movie opens with his proposal and her enthusiastic acceptance. When the university accepts Violet, they decide to postpone the wedding and move to Michigan for the duration of the program. “Two years is nothing,” Tom shrugs.
Unable to find work as a chef in the college town, Tom begins a downward slide into depression. When Violet breaks the news that the university has extended her time by another two years, you can hear the cracks forming in their relationship. The dialogue in this scene is keen and observant: As Violet tells Tom about the extension, she makes it seem as though it’s a possibility, not a done deal, to ease him into the idea.
Throughout all of the drama, Segal, Blunt and director Nicholas Stoller never forgot they were making a comedy. There are a lot of laugh-out-loud moments in “The Five-Year Engagement,” and the humor is genuinely funny, not gross, irreverent or cynical. When things get tense between Violet and Tom, Stoller lightens things up by focusing on his entertaining supporting cast. Rare is the romantic comedy with secondary characters as strong as these.
In almost every review of “The Five-Year Engagement” I’ve read, the critic complains that the movie is too long. I disagree. At 124 minutes, it felt just right. Although Stoller could have snipped a few of the improvised scenes, I liked settling into my seat for two hours and watching the story unfold. Stoller and Segal, who co-wrote the script, give us a long glimpse into the lives of these characters, which deepens the emotional payoff at the end.
Chemistry must be an elusive thing for even good actors to capture. I don’t even realize it’s rarely there until I see a movie like “The Five-Year Engagement,” in which the interaction of its stars comes across not as rehearsed or artificial but as natural as real life. When the credits roll, and you wish you could follow the characters as they enter a new chapter in their lives, you know you’ve seen a great movie.
Top that, Iron Man!
Rated R for sexual content and language. Three-and-a-half stars out of four. Email David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.com.