After a week of seeing documentaries and dramas, I needed a break from the heavy stuff and was more than willing to give a romantic comedy a go, especially one starring Simon Pegg and Lake Bell and directed by Ben Palmer, who helmed the hilarious The Inbetweeners Movie.
In Man Up, Lake Bell stars as Nancy, a 34 year-old single woman who has all but given up on relationships. One day, she is mistaken for a stranger’s blind date and rather than correct him, she plays along, deciding to put herself out there and act like she’s the girl he’s supposed to meet. Jack (Simon Pegg) is convinced this is the girl and the two end up having a wonderful day, but eventually the lie is revealed and the two discover there is much more to the other than they initially let on. Cue adventures, comedy and conflict.
Firstly, I may not have a command of the British accent but I have to say, I thought Lake Bell did a pretty good job with hers. It’s not often we see American’s appearing in British films using British accents, but Bell was very convincing from my perspective and was able to keep her trademark style of humor intact while doing so.
On the whole, Man Up was pretty entertaining. It was a light, quick, and easy watch. While there were laughs and chuckles throughout the entire movie, the best parts of the film came halfway through when Nancy’s jig was up and the two became bitter and hostile. They didn’t necessarily go their separate ways and the tension and feistiness that erupted made the dynamic much more interesting to watch. Typically, these types of rom-coms wait until the third act for the conflict to arise but I really enjoyed the shift in having it occur much earlier on. It allowed us more time to see them fight in a comical way, letting the eventual sad conflict to happen under different circumstances.
The chemistry between Pegg and Bell was great, but it was Rory Kinnear as Nancy’s high-school stalker admirer that stole the show and who was able to riff off each of them with ease. He was incredibly creepy and very, very funny as he was trying to steal Nancy away from Jack, attempting to find ways to blackmail her into giving him any sort of pleasure to relieve his sexual appetite for her.
There are a couple of really great moments in the film even if the overall arc is rather traditional. You can tell screenwriter Tess Morris loves movies because movie quotes become the initial basis for Nancy and Jack’s connection. There’s a dance scene in a bar later on in the movie that, while I can’t remember the song and movie reference, they do the dance that’s from that film. It’s highly choreographed and well executed. Also, rom-coms generally have some cheesy dialogue but there was a really intelligent bit where Nancy described Jack’s emotional state as an emotional jigsaw. It was a great metaphor and it really stuck with me throughout the rest of the film.
The main issue with Man Up is that it wasn’t anything revolutionary or that unique. It’s going to have trouble really distinguishing itself from other easygoing rom-coms with laughs throughout, which is ok depending on your expectations for rom-coms on the whole. The script had its ups and downs and the story was fairly predictable, but if you’re looking for something with a bit more substance and a non-traditional rom-com ending then Man Up isn’t for you.
While it may not break from the rom-com pack in terms of its originality, we can at least thank the talented cast and a director that’s got an eye for comedy for delivering a film that’s pretty entertaining. It’s a solid date movie that’s easy to watch and filled with a few memorable, and some cheesy, moments that’ll sure garner some solid laughs from those who go in with realistic expectations. It also doesn’t hurt if you already enjoy the comedic stylings of Simon Pegg and Lake Bell either.
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