The Five-Year Engagement

While the movie started strong and quickly reached the first set of wedding delays, once the characters moved to Michigan, things bogged down quickly. Without spoiling the movie, the antics in the Wolverine State were more like bad SNL skits than part of this movie.

The characters, both primary and secondary, were very likable and were also very well developed. Some of the fringe characters (I talking to you, Dakota!) tended to be overly done and one-note. They could have been scaled back to fit their place in the movie thus adding to rather than subtracting from the story. (Math in a movie review? Who would have guessed?) Tom's job hunt problems seemed to be oriented toward setting up jokes than based in reality. A man with his background would have landed a position in Ann Arbor in a New York minute. However, Violet's drama was much better written and more believable.

Once back in San Francisco, everything picked up again and you began rooting for the home team to finally make it to the goal line.

So go enjoy the beginning and end but be ready to take a 30-minute nap in the middle. Maybe the Director's Cut with actually cut out the boring parts. One can hope.

There are risks when romantic comedy is injected with "truth." Too little, and it feels like a desperate attempt to give the film credibility. Too much and it starts to feel uncomfortable as the comedy is buried in what appear to be a string of life lessons. The Five-Year Engagement tries to find a balance between comedy and truth and after a bit over two hours, almost succeeds.

That's not to say the film is bad. It's far from it, especially compared to what usually passes for a romantic comedy these days. Its leads (Emily Blunt and Jason Segel) have a surprising, easy chemistry and director Nicholas Stoller (who co-wrote with Segel) uses the talented supporting cast to add new perspective and layers to what is a pretty straightforward story.

Violet (Blunt) is a post-doctorate student. Tom (Segel) is a rising star of a chef in San Francisco. They get engaged on their first anniversary and while most romantic comedies would end here, The Five-Year Engagement does something that romantic comedies fail to do - showing what happens after the "happy ending." In doing so, we get to see every crack, seam and bump in their relationship, from Tom's resentment at leaving his dream job behind to follow Violet after she receives a fellowship at the University of Michigan, to Violet's increasing frustration at how Tom changes during his relocation.

It's a credit to Segel and Stoller that the situations that arise do so organically and don't feel forced in for shock value, and when things start to deteroriate, we not only see it coming, we solemnly nod because it is inevitable.

The film has issues, though, and they almost capsize the film. The most glaring one is the running time. The film clocks in at a bit over two hours, and you feel every grueling minute of it. The pacing and editing are a near disaster and at times, watching feels more like a chore than a good time. This is partially because the film, while billed as a romantic comedy, is only funny in spurts. The serious 'truths' of being in a relationship take center stage, which is in itself not a bad thing, but in a comedy, it really drags the film down.

The ending is typical rom-com schmaltz, though, as if the filmmakers snapped out of their malaise, thought "hey, aren't we making a comedy?" and wisely ended the film on an acceptably quirky note.

In the end, The Five-Year Engagement is serviceable entertainment, but could have been a lot more had they been able to strike the delicate balance they were trying for.

Daniel FilmPulse.net

The five-year Engagement, starring Emily Blunt and Jason Segel, is a rom-com focusing on the engagement of the two main characters they play. Many happened during the five year period.

The film may get you interested in the first 30 minutes, cause it does have some funny scenes and the regonizable faces of Kevin Hart and Mindy Kaling. As it goes on, you will lose interest in the film just like I did. Many subplots are going on and not every one can keep you interested.

It started to feel long and you will think "Please hurry up and just get married".

So it is basically like a long typical rom-com. Nothing special.

Grade: B-

Enjoyable funny movie that portrayed the modern day conflict of a couple with two careers. Who gives up what and why and how willing are they to accept the true full meaning of the compromise. Several good points are made and good analogies used.

Humor works for both guys and gals.

Without spoiling anything, the element used to mark time is somewhat dark.

Be familiar with the song 'Cu cu ru cu cu Palamo'. It is sung very well in Spanish early in the course of the movie with no translation but is tone setting for the movie. Used again in the credits.

At just over 2 hours, this movie seemed to drag at some points and several scenes could have been edited down a wee bit. Don't need to see something for 30 seconds or 2 minutes when the point is made and understood in considerably less time.

I don't see any academy nods for this one nor would I have expected any for this genre of movie but it was an enjoyable movie for an evening.

My wife and son were there and enjoyed it as well.

I do not understand why there are so many bad reviews. The film is very good.

I was intrigued by Emily Blunt's presence in the film so I downloaded it and was very surprised because it turned out to be so much better than I expected. There is one noteable thing about it - almost all the situations that are supposed to make you laugh are at least 1/3 unfunny as they are. This is a very believable quality about the film - it makes you look at life from a distance and understand that all those stupid actions and decisions that people make are just funny as hell. And with a little love you can even come to a happy-end (I don't think it's a spoiler, this is obviously not Macbeth, you knew a happy end was there). But this is what makes this film an actual challenge for some people. It is NOT PLEASANT. It does not put you into a dreamy or giggly state. It is actually quite raw, sarcastic and real. I do believe that we live in times when real things are considered unnerving and even evil. Some people would very much rather have safe spaces built in every corner of the city and not deal with reality. Well, in true love there are no safe spaces. True love makes you stay with a person through all the ugly things and through the funny things and through the good things, obviously.

Acting is on the spot. Everyone knows that Emily Blunt is one of the most talented actresses. Jason Segel is handsome and compelling, support cast entertain you in every possible way. The dialogues are great. Everything sounds very natural.

7 our of 10 - because 10 is Fellini and Visconti. One of the best modern chick flicks I've ever seen.