Rudd plays a newly engaged California realtor who gets along famously with the friends of his fiancee (Rashida Jones), and women in general, but has no male friends to speak of and so no prospective best man. That is, until he hits it off with Segel. They bond over fish tacos and rock out to Rush.

To me the film didn’t seem as vulgar as Marshall, especially in how it foregoes any full-frontal nudity by Segel, and so I didn’t mind all the swearing or constant discussions about certain adult activities as much. And it all has a nice, loose-but not too loose-improvisational feel thanks to director and co-writer John Hamburg (Safe Men), who nonetheless could have cut the scene where Rudd educates Jones on said prog-rock band.

Plus it’s reliably funny, from the man-dates Rudd goes on to find a male buddy to Segel’s play-by-play of a guy who won’t fart near his girlfriend, to Rudd’s failed attempts to say “see ya later” in a cool way, to the way Rudd and Segel’s inevitable break-up involves a discussion of Chocolat. There’s also the hilarious fight Segel picks with Ferrigno that ends with Segel in a sleeper hold.

Rudd just seems to get funnier with each film, and here he elicits laughs not only from his expressions, like when a gay man-date (Thomas Lennon) lays a French kiss on him, but also from his tendency to sound Irish when trying imitate Jamaicans or Brits. Not to mention how he slaps his slick jerk of a co-worker (Rob Huebel) in telling the guy to get lost.

Segel’s easy-going man-boy slob made me laugh, too, from little things like telling Rudd not to make Ferrigno (whose house Rudd is trying to sell) mad, to bigger ones, like his string of curses after getting a golf ball to the shin. His role is also the more interesting one, in that he’s essentially a male etiquette mentor for Rudd.

Then there’s the talented supporting cast, most of which has little to do. J.K. Simmons makes a funny impression as Rudd’s dad, whose best friends are Rudd’s gay brother (Andy Samberg) and a guy named “Hank Markdukas.” Jones is fine as the typically sweet and intelligent girlfriend who has typically supportive gal pals (Jaime Pressly and Sarah Burns). Lennon (17 Again) makes the hysterical most of his all-too-brief screen time.

I can certainly see how people might tire of Rudd’s ultimate-nice-guy act, or find Segel boorish and annoying, or even be put off by the seemingly incessant profanity (though Rudd hardly swears at all). I myself could have done without Jon Favreau as Pressly’s overly-aggressive, cigar-chomping husband who constantly belittles Rudd.

But I still liked the movie, and what’s more, I could relate all too easily to the social awkwardness Rudd experiences when trying to bond with other men, be it playing cards with Favreau’s friends or not being invited on a bachelor party/camping trip by some fellow fencing fellows. That alone raisesI Love You, Man a few notches above your average cuss-filled comedy. – [DVD]

Comedy/Romance

Rated R

DVD Release Date: 8/11/09

Instead of a kid wishing he were older, we get an unhappy thirtysomething (Matthew Perry) wishing he could live in the past, back when he was a high school basketball star and before he gave up the game for his pregnant girlfriend. Thanks to a magic janitor and a giant whirlpool, he’s soon back to his youthful, six-pack self, only it’s still 2009.

The film may sound a lot like Big, but it more or less feels and plays out like lesser late-’80s body-swap comedies like Vice Versa or Like Father, Like Son and tries nothing new with the concept. Efron acts like a teenager, has a pal (Thomas Lennon) who knows what’s up, and inevitably turns back into Perry after learning a valuable life lesson.

I also didn’t care for Efron hitting on his estranged wife (Leslie Mann), or seeing Efron’s annoying daughter (Michelle Trachtenberg) come on to him. The latter is an admittedly uncomfortable idea that was done to funny effect in Back to the Future, but here just feels creepy, as does, somehow, Efron helping his son (Sterling Knight) gain both confidence and a girlfriend.

And yet while Efron is no Hanks, he mostly succeeds in convincing us that inside his gym-honed body lurks the soul of an actual adult. He thwarts a bully by psycho-analyzing the guy’s weaknesses, makes a pro-abstinence speech that starts out funny but turns unexpectedly tender, and makes a passionate, heart-breaking plea to Mann in divorce court to give him one more chance. He also complains to his teen teammates about gaining a paunch and losing hair.

Mann is funny, too, especially when she first meets the new Efron (whom she later dubs “weirdo little man-child”) and pokes and prods and squeezes his face because she, and only she, it seems, notices that he looks just like Perry when he was younger. Speaking of which, I never bought into the idea that a stud like Efron could grow up to be Perry, but the former Friends star still made me laugh.

I laughed at Lennon (I Love You, Man) the most, though. He’s absolutely hysterical as Efron’s rich nerd buddy who lives in the ultimate nerd pad and tells Efron’s hot high school principal (Melora Hardin), “I think our hands just made a baby,” after shaking her hand. His wooing of her is amusing. His lightsaber duel with Efron (don’t ask) is even funnier. The scene where he joins others in slapping Efron is funnier still.

Ultimately the film, which was slapped together by the guy who concocted Bringing Down the House and directed by Burr Steers (Igby Goes Down), is really not much more than a skin-deep stepping stone for Efron to ease away from his Disney image. He may not sing and dance in it, but something tells me teen girls everywhere will forgive him once they see him shooting hoops shirtless. – [DVD]

Comedy/Drama/Romance

Rated PG-13

DVD Release Date: 8/11/09