Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Country by the Ocean

I Love You, Man (2009)
directed by John Hamburg
rating: 3 out of 5 cravats
seen on the screen at Century 14 Downtown

I always agree when friends tell me I don't see enough movies in the theater, and I Love You, Man is a good example of how comfortable a little consistency can be. There's a scene where Andy Samberg, who plays a personal trainer at a Los Angeles gym, tells the guy doing sit-ups that it's almost beach season. And what do you know, it is. I like that I could be living in a cave, see Paul Rudd on a billboard, and set my watch by whatever weather he's dressed to enjoy.

Also, Andy Samberg's character is gay, a fact of life that the well-adjusted cast takes in stride. I know that BrĂ¼no is still on the horizon, but if anything can get us past the gay panic rut that lesser bromances inevitably fall into, it's incremental earnestness in pre-season comedy quickies like this one. And not to make too much of it, but there's a real moral center to I Love You, Man - one that doesn't lay the blame for any romantic misunderstanding at the feet of a female lead, or make too many jokes at the expense of Rashida Jones's unattached friend.

In the end, these local California productions have found such a good formula - kind, funny stars and plenty of beach-side sunlight - that they're just like a pass beneath the low-hanging orange tree on the corner. Not my corner, of course, but west and easy.