Peter (Rudd) is getting ready to marry his girlfriend Zooey (Jones) when he realises that he doesn't have a friend good enough to be his best man. So he goes on a quest to meet someone. After a series of messy nights out with a friend's husband (Favreau), a work colleague (Huebel) and a blind date (Lennon) set up by his mother (Curtin), he meets his goofy soulmate Sydney (Segel). But they get on perhaps a little too well, and Peter starts to rediscover a side of himself he had nearly forgotten.

Structured exactly like a romantic comedy, this is easily the gayest non-gay buddy movie since Pineapple Express. It's also consistently hilarious from start to finish, and unafraid to touch on some genuine emotions along the way. Not to mention the whole issue of how shallow and difficult male friendships can be in Western society. There are sections of the film in which Hamburg indulges in his usual comedy of embarrassment (see Meet the Parents et al), but Rudd and Segel are much better than that, and subvert these scenes with throwaway charm.

This is a terrific comedy double-act, with two distinct styles of daft, awkward charm and strong chemistry together. But it's definitely Rudd's movie, and he's fantastic as a guy who has his confidence badly shaken and discovers something even better. He delivers his dialog with impeccable comic timing, hysterically strangling every attempt to be cool, which lets us identify with Peter's desperation. And these two are so good that the excellent supporting cast struggles to catch our attention.

Most impressively, this is a rare film that gets the balance right between the gross-out slapstick (such as the projectile vomiting moment), man-child antics (jamming to Rush) and confused masculinity ("There are no rules for male friendships, especially if you like him"). The main plot points are a bit clunky, Sydney is rather unnecessarily enigmatic and the film feels about 20 minutes too long, but it's both laugh-out-loud funny and surprisingly sweet. And yes, it's also delightful.

themes, themes, language, innuendo, vulgarity

9.Mar.09