My friend recently got
engaged and wedding planning has been full on. We had a night to kill a couple
weeks ago and went to see The Five Year Engagement. I was really stoked for
this movie because one of the producers on the film was Judd Apatow, and he
produced the movie Bridesmaids; which I was big fan of fun. Not only we were
looking to enjoy a movie about a wedding but I have been a huge fan of Jason Segel.
Jason Segel not only acted in the movie but was a screenplay writer and executive
producer on the film. From the cast and crew alone the movie had promise.
The story line is about a couple,
Tom and Violet, played by Jason Segel and Emily Blunt. After dating for a year
the couple gets engaged, but instead of a quick engagement the end up being engaged
for five years. The storyline follows the couple as they struggle with their
careers, a move to a different state and planning a wedding.
Going into the movie I was really expecting
comedy that was in Bridesmaids and excited to watch Jason Segel’s screenplay in
action. The comedy was mediocre and nothing up to the same standards of the
work in bridesmaids. The screenplay itself was decent but was not that original
at all. It became clear where the story was going after the couple made the
move to Michigan.
Lately
there have not been very many main stream romance comedies. The last one was
Bridesmaids. I think that they were in the right market with a romance comedy
movie and it felt like they were trying to get another hit like they had with
Bridesmaids and reach the same target audience. The main target audience being
young adults in their mid 20’s to mid 30’s. The movie was about a couple around
that age just out of college and trying to establish careers for themselves.
The storyline and characters are certainly relatable to someone around this age
and going through the same thing. I do also think that the storyline did carry
an important message about love and relationships; which I think is good for
people around this age and helps them think about which to put first, love or a
career. As far as stereotypes and offensive messages I think that someone from
Michigan might come out of the movie being offended. The writers really played on the stereotypes
of Michigan and what it would be like for someone living there. It also played on
the stereotypes of Professors taking advantage of their female students.
I was really excited to see this
movie; given the wedding planning my friend was doing and being a huge Jason
Segel fan. About 30 minutes into the movie I lost all my excitement. I found
Jason Segel to still be funny and thought that his character was hilarious. But
Jason’s humor was not enough to make up for the lack of humor from the other characters
and the lack of story line. I was expecting a cute romcom and expecting to
laugh about a couple planning a wedding. Instead I got a few laughs about Tom (Jason
Segel) a San Francisco native trying to live in the cold and snow in Michigan. His
character had trouble adapting and was not happy in Michigan, but his attempt to
adapt was the best part of the movie. When the couple finally did end up
getting married it was a silly thrown together wedding. A screenwriter’s
attempt of trying to be cute but the whole thing just came off cheesy.
The movie overall was not that memorable. In fact I had forgotten all about it till I was in class this past week. Even when my professor asked the class if anyone had seen it, it took me a minute to remember that I had. The movie has nothing to offer worth remembering or makes me want to watch it again. It had has laughs and I enjoyed the storyline and felt like I could relate to it but just left feeling so blah about it. Rafer Guzman a critic from Newsday gave one of the better reviews on I feel on the movie and is quoted saying "'The Five-Year Engagement' becomes two things: an accurate reflection of a new generation of postponement-prone 30-somethings, and a rather uninteresting story.”
The movie overall was not that memorable. In fact I had forgotten all about it till I was in class this past week. Even when my professor asked the class if anyone had seen it, it took me a minute to remember that I had. The movie has nothing to offer worth remembering or makes me want to watch it again. It had has laughs and I enjoyed the storyline and felt like I could relate to it but just left feeling so blah about it. Rafer Guzman a critic from Newsday gave one of the better reviews on I feel on the movie and is quoted saying "'The Five-Year Engagement' becomes two things: an accurate reflection of a new generation of postponement-prone 30-somethings, and a rather uninteresting story.”
This isn’t a movie a will be buying on DVD or off I-tunes. It is not a movie I recommended to anyone to
see in the theater either. I recommend waiting and watching at home. I will
though still remind a huge fan of Jason Segel and continue you to see Jude
Apatow movies. My friend that went to
the movie with my felt the same way I did and walked away disappointed also. Other people I know that saw it also left
with the same feeling of “Blah”. It was 124 minutes of some laughs and the feeling of always know what is coming next.
This assignment left me with the want to review more movies. I learned how to dissect and analyze a movie. More than just expressing what I thought with the simple word of "Blah". Sure, I still used the word "Blah' to express my feelings towards the movie in my post, but I was able to write and say more about the movie than before.
This assignment left me with the want to review more movies. I learned how to dissect and analyze a movie. More than just expressing what I thought with the simple word of "Blah". Sure, I still used the word "Blah' to express my feelings towards the movie in my post, but I was able to write and say more about the movie than before.
Here are some more reviews of the movie -
