I Give It a Year

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source: I Give It a Year

From the start it's obvious where this story is going to end up and we must be grateful that it only takes 97 minutes to get there. The script, mostly a series of break-ups and makings-up, might have worked for a TV sitcom but it's not enough to sustain a movie. The direction - like the writing - is uninspired. There's a terrible lack of chemistry between each pair of leads, whichever way you mix them. The men are more persuasive than the women, and Minnie Driver outshines the two female stars. Olivia Colman has a nice role as a counsellor in need of counselling herself. Stephen Merchant gives us his usual tiresome nerd so persuasively that you want to see him pushed under a bus. The law of diminishing returns seems to be applying to British rom-coms. PIRATE RADIO (The Boat that Rocked) wasn't as funny as LOVE ACTUALLY which wasn't as romantic as NOTTING HILL which wasn't as funny as FOUR WEDDINGS. I GIVE IT A YEAR is conspicuously lacking in believable romance and a few chuckles do not constitute much of a comedy. I'd give it a miss.

This is the attempt to latch on to the commercial success of "Four Weddings And A Funeral" by recreating a British comedy that's aimed squarely at the US-American market (whilst stealing the entire plot of "An Indecent Proposal" and hoping that no-one will notice). Very romanticand crude. Threesome sex where the girls keep their bras on to avoid a PG-16 rating. You get the picture. I was duped into watching this because Stephen Merchant, the co-author of The Office, is in it, therefore I expected some The Office-esque humour. I was disappointed. Literally all the jokes feel as if they had been created on a computer with a joke-designing software. A boorish bridegroom giving a toast at a posh wedding -- potentially funny. Watching holiday snaps with your in-laws and realising that they contain some delicate off-pool capers -- potentially funny. A cynical marriage counselor whose own marriage is in the doldrums -- potentially funny. After a while this movie felt like the DVD extras where the director says "This scene didn't fire so it had to hit the cutting room floor", only here they made a movie out of it.

I got this for the actors, whom I all think are brilliant. I didn't know much about it, but read the back cover description on the DVD and thought, eh, worth a shot... And I leave this movie appalled. Hardly funny - a few key moments, but mostly trying too hard to be "alternative" - and the main characters are generally unlikeable. Actually, I retract that: Josh is okay, but Nat I despise. I literally rooted out loud for Chloe (Anna Feris), the ex-girlfriend. And Simon Baker in another ridiculously alluring/womanizing role to a committed woman... I just didn't find it funny. The only heart I saw in the film was a small moment between Minnie Driver's character and the character's husband, a brief respite from this train wreck of a film. If you're looking for a quirky, against-the-grain romantic comedy, you could do much better anywhere else.

This could have been a very good feel good movie if it had been shown that Nat and Josh had gone through a series of trials, tribulations and temptations but then remembered their love for each other and emerged with their marriage and love stronger than ever. Instead they indulge in what can only literally be called, wife swapping with Chloe and Guy, with Chloe going to Josh and Nat going to Guy. Marriage vows are trampled upon. A movie that leaves the viewer feeling bad and depressed that marital love does not triumph. Horrible. Avoid.

This could have been a feel good movie if it had been shown that Nat and Josh had gone through a series of trials, tribulations and temptations but then remembered their love for each other and emerged with their marriage and love stronger than ever. Instead they indulge in what can only literally be called, wife swapping with Chloe and Guy, with Chloe going to Josh and Nat going to Guy. Marriage vows are trampled upon and the viewer is left with a sense of disgust for the characters and feeling bad and depressed that marital love does not triumph. Horrible. Avoid.

The rom-comedy genre has been known for being very formulaic and often entries are a dime a dozen. It is hard to stand out of the crowd and it is often a genre that plays it safe. But I Give It a Year is a film that attempts to twist the rom-com clichés. Josh (Rafe Spall) and Nat (Rose Byrne) are a couple who after dating for seven months decide to get married, even though they friends and family think they are marrying too soon. And it turns out they are right with their marriage hits the rocks. Their eyes soon wonder to two American, Chloe (Anna Farris), Josh's ex-girlfriend and one of Nat's business clients, Guy (Simon Baker). Often the formula of rom-coms is that the guy or girl tries to win over someone there are often a series of mishaps and misunderstanding on the way. In I Give It a Year the main two characters are fighting for their marriage as they are two other suitors waiting in the wings. In style I Give it a Year was shot very much like other rom-coms like Bridget Jones, Love Actually and Notting Hill (Working Title made all those films) but I Give It a Year is more of an anti rom-com, being more willing to be risqué. There are some twists on typical rom-com clichés and there is a fine parody of a famous rom-com speech. I Give it a Year is the first film as a director for Borat writer Dan Mazar and most the humour was sex jokes or awkward/cringe humour and sometimes both. This was all summed up with Stephen Merchant in a show stealing performance giving us his trademark cringe humour and saying very politically incorrect at the most inappropriate times. Olivia Coleman as a bitter man-hating marriage counsellor who has some of the best lines in the film and great physical actions. But some of the jokes are overlong and the first joke where a priest is uncontrollably coughing led to me thinking what have I got myself in for. Spall and Byrne are fine actors. Spall was very good at playing a prat and Bryne was the straight character of the piece. But she is made to be more of the bad guy out of the pair as she is more willing to flirt with Guy and seeks him out as the marriage starts to crumble. The other love interests are also a bit too perfect, even trying to show Guy as the perfect (plus he owns a massive factory in Britain, why not make him British). The supporting cast are solid, particularly Minnie Driver and Jason Flyming as a marriage couple who hard each other. I Give It a Year is a fun film that will delight audiences. The cinema audience I saw it with enjoyed it. There are enough jokes and twists the rom-com genre to keep the film fresh.

Check out my review on my Blog at http://fameasserlufc.wordpress.com Dysfunctional is definitely a word I would use to describe this film. "I Give It A Year" follows the trials and tribulations of a young couple who, after marrying shortly after meeting, struggle through married life for the first year of their new lives. Rafe Spall and Rose Byrne are the couple in question but as their lives take a turn away from each other and into the arms of ex-girlfriends (Anna Faris) and business colleagues (Simon Baker) everything turns to turmoil with hilarious results. Awkward is another word I would use to describe this film. Much of the comedy stems from the wrong thing being said at the wrong time in front of the wrong people. Steven Merchant's best friend role is one he plays to perfection as it's not too much of a stretch from his normal self as Ricky Gervais' right-hand man. Spall is great fun in the film and has to carry a lot of the comedy himself, having a very quirky relationship with his Ex, where Byrne is a more serious person and the situations she finds herself in lend themselves more to the "should she or shouldn't she" question. It's not the funniest film ever made, but it's well worth a chuckle and I can't help think that the film would have benefited more from a full cinema, rather than a 7-person screening (yes I was the odd one out). Comedy films tend to work a lot better when there's more people watching. That being said, the first third of the film and the last third definitely have moments which are very funny and "Laugh Out Loud" but the middle section does seem to focus more on which way the characters will turn than the comedy aspect. Worth a watch, by maybe a DVD viewing in a year or so rather than making a special trip to see on the big screen.

Last year there were very few films that I found that funny, mainly because a lot of the humour was American. This British film gives a refreshing look on the romantic comedy and has a simple yet interesting plot. Both main actors are brilliantly suited to their characters, but it is mainly Stephen Merchant who gets the most laughs - kind of stealing the show really. It's not a perfect film, it's a bit predictable in parts, but not boringly so. Definitely worth the watch!! (Just don't watch it with your parents)