The Five Year Engagement

Jason Segel's attempts at channelling Woody Allen through his obvious Apatow-led sensibilities sporadically work, in this surprisingly solemn comedy that has more dramatic elements than you'd expect. Starting out hilariously, and ending with a wonderfully organic sweetness, there's nonetheless a lethargic forty-five minutes or so in the middle that feel a tad indulgent. There are still enough real moments to make this work and Segel and Blunt make for an engaging couple.

Segel is a sweet, thoughtful and successful chef living in San Francisco who falls in love with, then promptly proposes to, his academic girlfriend - played by the always watchable Emily Blunt. After she gets a gig in Michigan, miles away from their base in San Fran, they up sticks and move there. But Segel's once uber-successful chef struggles to find work in the new town and quickly becomes depressed; while Blunt's sharp Brit excels in her new gig - even partaking in some flirting with an impressive Welsh professor (Ifans). As their engagement continually stalls, everyone's lives around them continue and their priorities change.

Jason Segel wrote and starred in one of my favourite romantic comedies in recent memory, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, so naturally my expectations for this follow-up were sufficiently high. With 'Marshall', Segel (who works with the same co-writer and director here) struck that delicate balance between crass and sweet; one of the great things about the Apatow alum is that his characters always feel like an extension of him. He sells the overly sweet guy routine so convincingly because he's actually like that and writes what he knows very well.

Issues with TFYE arise in the middle with the film then staying in dramatic purgatory for far too long. A more ruthless director (maybe one who hadn't co-written the script) would've shaved off characters and subplots for the sake of pacing. One such subplot see's Segel's character growing some highly unlikely facial hair to emphasis his not-give-shit-ness; even the mildly dramatic turn that the film takes around this point feels off - as do a concoction of overtly comedic supporting players.

If it wasn't for that huge boring bit in the middle this would be an unequivocal success. Not a patch on Segel's previously penned features, but still enjoyable in parts and effortlessly sweet in others.