The Five-Year Engagement (2012)

One year after meeting, Tom proposes to his girlfriend, Violet, but unexpected events keep tripping them up as they look to walk down the aisle together.

Director:

Nicholas Stoller

Writers:

Jason Segel (screenplay), Nicholas Stoller (screenplay)

Stars:

Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Segel	...	Tom Solomon
Emily Blunt	...	Violet Barnes
Chris Pratt	...	Alex Eilhauer
Alison Brie	...	Suzie Barnes-Eilhauer
Lauren Weedman	...	Chef Sally
Mimi Kennedy	...	Carol Solomon
David Paymer	...	Pete Solomon
Jacki Weaver	...	Sylvia Dickerson-Barnes
Jim Piddock	...	George Barnes
Eric Scott Cooper	...	B&B Manager
Dakota Johnson	...	Audrey
Jane Carr	...	Grandma Katherine
Clement von Franckenstein	...	Grandpa Baba
Michael Ensign	...	Grandpa Harold
Madge Levinson	...	Grandma Leonora

Storyline

In San Francisco, after a year's relationship, Tom proposes to Violet; she accepts. She's an experimental psychologist, hoping for a post-doc at Cal. He's a sous chef who runs the kitchen when the chef is away. When Cal falls through and she gets an offer in Ann Arbor, Tom agrees to support the move, turning down a job as chef at a new restaurant. The move requires postponing the wedding. At Michigan, Violet is in her element, but Tom is underemployed and frustrated; he's Stoic for a while, but when two years in Michigan become four, Tom's frustrations boil over, and on the eve of yet another wedding date, they must make a choice. Is there any other alternative?

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Plot Keywords:

restaurant | sous chef | wedding date | kitchen | englishwoman abroad | 

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Taglines:

A comedy about the journey between popping the question and tying the knot.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content, and language throughout

Details

Official Sites:

Official Blog Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 April 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eternamente comprometidos

Filming Locations:

Beltane Ranch, Glen Ellen, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$10,610,060 (USA) (27 April 2012)

Gross:

$28,644,770 (USA) (15 June 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Apatow Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In order to fine-tune her character Suzie's British accent, Alison Brie listened to recordings of readings provided by her British co-star Emily Blunt.

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Goofs

Violet's outfit changes during the viewing of the donut testing participants. She starts in the same outfit, changes to another, then is suddenly back in the original outfit.

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Quotes

Tom Solomon: How could you do this to me?
Winton Childs: I haven't done anything to you, Violet did something to you; not me. If a woman wants to kiss me I'm going to fucking kiss her. Underneath all that polite bullshit we're all running on caveman software. If she's got a husband, or a fiancé, or a boyfriend it's on her conscience, not mine.
Tom Solomon: You should run.
Winton Childs: Look Tom, this is ridiculous. Let's just put a stop to this now, please. Come on, I'm sorry. I really am.
Tom Solomon: Winton, if you feel bad at all for what you did then you'll...
[...]

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Connections

References Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

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Soundtracks

"Sweet Thing"
Written by Van Morrison
Performed by Van Morrison
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

It's the underlying allusions to psychological analysis that stand out when the wit is weak.

No groundbreaking ideas or themes are presented in The Five-Year Engagement, but that doesn't mean it's not entertaining. Spurts of slapstick, a dash of vulgar humor, generous helpings of uncomfortable awkwardness, and a pinch of melodrama seasons the film with a cross of genres and unexpected laughs. Although moments of sudden darkness cloud the generally light-hearted mood, the greatest achievement for writer/star Jason Segel and writer/director Nicholas Stoller is that the characters are never despicable and retain a likability that typically shirks away from roles designed to have dramatic, dynamic ups and downs.

Tom Solomon (Jason Segel) and Violet Barnes (Emily Blunt) are madly in love. Despite a repeatedly botched proposal, they are destined to be wed. But what starts as a short engagement with immediate marriage planning eventually gets stretched into a couple of years. The lovers decide to move away from Tom's successful sous-chef job in San Francisco so that Violet can pursue a psychology career at the University of Michigan. Head professor Winton Childs (Rhys Ifans) manages to extend Violet's position there, spreading the engagement into a five-year stretch that weighs heavily on Tom's contentment and Violet's ability to handle his perceived lack of success in the new environment.

With most of Segel's comedies, embarrassing situations and an inescapable level of coarseness replace genuine creative humor. This film is no exception, frequently using sexual jokes, carnal activities, venereal insinuations, and Segel's own seemingly contractually obligated nudity to fuel the hilarity. The dialogue supports this brand of badinage, although fortunately it's the underlying allusions to psychological analysis that stand out when the wit is weak. Commentary on the different ways men and women cope with problems is particularly intuitive. Also, one of Violet's focuses in the psychology department is to conduct an experiment in which subjects fill out forms about their personal stresses. They are then observed either eating stale donuts, or waiting for fresh ones to arrive, after being falsely informed that such new refreshments would be provided. She determines that people with troubled pasts are more likely to snag an old donut than those without turmoil in their lives. Throughout the film, occasionally quite blatantly, the notion that Tom and Violet's relationship correlates to the donut experiment arises. Indeed, many of the relationships depicted in the movie are representative of wanting something new or being content with something that is imperfect yet satisfying in the moment.

The conclusion wraps up all the dilemmas too neatly, utilizing contrived methods of repairing debacles and adding nonsensical solutions of pure fantasy. It's still affable in production despite the strict adherence to the romantic comedy formula, never betraying the sense of general decency about the characters (even the love triangle is broken up without the antagonist resorting to anything unusually cruel). The supporting roles of Chris Pratt as moronic buddy Alex, Alison Brie as crybaby sister Suzie, Chris Parnell as a stay-at-home dad/devoted hunter, and Brian Posehn as a candidly foul-mouthed deli employee are largely more memorable than the leads (although Blunt is always watchable). A scene in which Blunt and Brie converse while imitating Cookie Monster and Elmo, respectively, is impressively silly and probably the most unforgettable skit. Suzie essentially sums up the familiar joviality of The Five-Year Engagement when pep-talking Violet into showing some enthusiasm: "This is your wedding! You only get a few of these." - The Massie Twins (GoneWithTheTwins.com)