Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel have become quite the team. They first teamed up when Stoller directed the hilarious relationship comedy, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” starring Segel. The duo then worked together on last year’s “The Muppets,” which was a nostalgia-ridden blast for audiences of all ages. Their latest project, “The Five-Year Engagement,” has the same familiar style as other Segel/Stoller classics, but it feels like it’s missing a little something.
The film is about a happy couple Tom (Segel) and Violet (Emily Blunt) who, of course, just got engaged. Tom is a head chef at a fancy seafood restaurant, while Violet is working on her post-doctorate in psychology. Everything goes south when Violet is accepted to a prestigious post-doctorate program at the University of Michigan, which lasts two years. Tom gives up his dream job and follows her to Michigan, where the changes in lifestyle and temperature start to drive him slightly insane.
The rest of the film follows the couple struggling to stay together long enough to actually eventually tie the knot. Unfortunately, the film occasionally feels like it’s being drawn-out just as much as the engagement has. Unlike “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” which had the interesting and sunny setting of Hawaii to work with, the snowy Michigan setting makes these relationship problems seem legitimately depressing at times. This makes the comedy have to work a little bit harder to come through.
Luckily, the filmmakers have stacked the film with an amazing supporting cast. Violet’s sister Suzie is played by Alison Brie of “Mad Men” and NBC’s “Community.” She pulls off a surprisingly non-distracting British accent, and has some of the funniest scenes in the movie. The other scene-stealer is also from an NBC comedy. “Parks and Recreation” star Chris Pratt plays Tom’s best friend, the dim-witted Alex. It’s weird to say that there is “comic relief” in a comedy film, but these two fit the description.
Other supporting characters that steal the scene are Tom’s friend, played by Saturday Night Live alum Chris Parnell, and his boss, Tarquin, played by stand-up comedian Brian Posehn. Also, Violet’s coworkers, played by Kevin Hart and “The Office’s” Mindy Kaling, are given some of the best lines in the film, and the audience will be left wishing Hart and Kalling had more screen-time.
The issues with the film come in the third act when the actual five-year engagement is almost up. It’s clear to the audience that Tom and Violet are perfect for each other, but they have spent close to two hours of the film being unfairly torn apart. Of course, this is the point, but it gets tedious toward the end of the film. It really feels like the filmmakers want the audience to feel the whole five years of these people’s life go by. Unfortunately, this means it starts to drag and gets borderline depressing toward the end.
Even with these pacing problems, the film is worth seeing for its truly hilarious moments. Even though Judd Apatow produces this film, it is deliberately less mean-spirited with its comedy than some of his other films. It’s a perfect date movie because it will be funny and crude enough for the guys, while also being sweet enough for the girls.
