'THE FIVE YEAR ENGAGEMENT'

'THE FIVE YEAR ENGAGEMENT' (R) (3 STARS)

Written by Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel
Directed by Nicholas Stoller
Actors: Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt, Alison Brie, Rhys Ifans, Jackie Weaver, Kevin Hart, Mindy Kaling, David Paymer, Mimi Kennedy

I think that co writer, director Nicholas Stoller, actor and producer Jason Segel and producer Judd Apatow should be the only ones allowed to make romantic comedies. I say this because romantic comedies with the stamp of Apatow are realistic, very clever and funny and they don't feel forced. Now if they would edit down more of their movies they would be classics and Oscar winners. The wonderful writers Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel who wrote "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" give us another romantic comedy that is a winner. It was one of the best and funniest romantic comedies of the last decade. "The Five Year Engagement" is another winner from the Apatow factory and I had a fun time.

It starts with a couple of actors who have great chemistry together in Jason Segel and the beautiful Emily Blunt. They play Tom and Violet who are a loving couple who want to get married. They are nice people with big hearts and they want to make their wedding day special. They start to plan a wedding but careers and changes will get in the way. Tom is a chef and Violet is an academic who has a great opportunity in Michigan. Their wedding will have to be postponed because Violet will have to move to Michigan for a job. Tom goes with her but wants the wedding to be after Violet's two year stint in Michigan so they can marry in their hometown San Francisco. Yes the movie will show all different situations where the wedding will be postponed multiple times, I mean look at the title.

The movie is a little predictable but the fun is in watching Segel and Blunt in action. This brings me to Emily Blunt who again is pure magic. She is beautiful, her line readings are expertly timed, she is charming and she is just plain funny. Jason Segel is that everyman character who seems like a straight man in other comedies but he is likable here like he always is. Blunt and Segel work off of each other very well and are sweet and funny together. The great talent of Segel is his writing and Stoller and him should write every romantic comedy. "Engagement" is relaxed and never forced, the jokes come from characters and situations and the movie is vulgar in spots but also very charming and full of heart. This is the same charm and fun they gave us in "Sarah Marshall" and "The Muppets" and it is working every time.

They are also sorrounded by a cast of great comic actors who are very funny and amazing here. It starts with a charming and scene stealing performance by Rhys Ifans as Violet's boss and professor. There are some very funny scenes as the Professor, Violet and other faculty members do psychological experiments. Those faculty members are a wonderful bunch of brilliant on the rise comic talent from television shows that deserve movie careers. There is Chris Pratt doing a funny variation on his goofy character from "Parks and Recreation". There is the charming Alison Brie (Community, Mad Men) who is pitch perfect and very funny as Violet's sister. You also have very funny small turns by Mindy Kaling (The Office) and Kevin Hart. Add to that Jackie Weaver, David Paymer and Mimi Kennedy as very funny parents.

The best moments of the movie are set in wintry Michigan as Tom tries to adjust to a less exciting life with a job that is in a less appealing place then the one he worked at in San Francisco. There are little moments that made me laugh out loud as when Chris Pratt's Alex sings an obscure song in Spanish to Tom and Viloet at their engagement party. I also love a scene where Emily Blunt's Violet and Alison Brie's Suzie act out for Suzie's kids The Cookie Monster and Elmo as they have a conversation with each other.

There are many quirky and brilliant scenes that are very funny and smart mixed up with the more obscene jokes. There are scenes of dialogue that are brilliant and clever that you have to pay attention to. There are vulgar jokes and double entendres but also some individual jokes that come out from situations. Yes there are jokes that are cruel to the characters but a lot of the humor comes out of funny situations that happen in real life. This is not a mean spirited movie but a great relationship comedy with moments of compelling drama and sweetness. The movie could have been edited down 20 minutes, Apatow and Segel's movies can be overlong especially for comedies.

That being said this is a very fun and sometimes laugh out loud funny comedy that is also a great date movie. When most romantic comedies are fake, lame, forced and annoying "The Five Year Engagement" has an easy charm and makes you feel good. That's the magic formula, easy going, charming, sweet and funny, that Apatow and Segel nail all the time. Why can't others capture that magic, most romantic comedies seem like a chore to sit through. Blunt and Segel are a winning couple together and this supporting cast is incredibly gifted and funny. It has humor but it also made me feel like I was watching a real couple with real life happening to them. "The Five Year Engagement" is a winner but now Apatow and Segel need to work on cutting down on their running times.