Man Up (2015)

'look at us we're so cute it's vomit inducing'

I'm a connoisseur within the romantic comedy sphere. I can tell if something's going to be a complete waste of my time or not. Unfortunately for the last couple of years the majority of romantic comedies haven't exactly been newsworthy or un-cringe-like. They've all fallen into that ridiculous trap of over-the-top comedy and just unrealistic portrayals of people; besides every line spoken causing sharp never-ending embarrassment. I'd had some expectations for Man Up already. It got Simon Pegg who'd I'd not pegged (hah) to be dabbling in romantic flicks, though he'd briefly stepped into it with Run Fatboy Run, but that's some years since. Films he's been in have had romance in them, though that wasn't the main focus of said films (thankfully), for example - Shaun of the dead. So I didn't really know what to expect, though the trailer had given me some hope in regards of the female character. She wasn't your run-in-the-mill starry-eyed female who'd gush out romantic hopes and stare wistfully out in the distance (ala sad song in the background, for example Katie Melua). I'm not saying that all romantic comedies generate that sort of boring cliche these days, but some of them do thread into it quite often. They forget that bit where men and women can be different, but they can also be able to talk to each other.

Nancy is a thirty-something woman who's rubbish at romance, and hates being set up by her friends. When she's heading off to her parents anniversary party she's sat across some perky optimistic twenty-year old woman named Jessica on the train who disrupts her day. Nancy tells her to bugger off, though the woman still manages to tell her about her blind date where she'll be carrying this book she recommends her to read. It's a self-help book about finding love. Jessica is close to giving it to her, but she needs to carry it so her date will know it's her.

When Nancy later on wakes up in the train she's surprised to find the book left behind, besides a bookmark that opens up to a little note jotted down - 'you're ruining your life and others with your negativity'. Highly offended she springs out, chasing after the woman only to be stopped by the woman's blind date Jack mistaking her for Jessica.

And Nancy somehow winds up saying yes to her being Jessica.

Surprise. Surprise.

But despite the obvious journey the film starts to veer into it's not steering you into that gap entirely anyway. There's some surprising twists, as the two characters actually enjoy being together, like we all know a typical stereotype is to have them bicker endlessly, resulting in an 'opposites attract'. Here they get along marvelously, and begin to bicker when things get difficult. Somehow this for me is almost magical to be honest. We never see this happen these days. Bickering is somehow made into 'oh it's sexual tension', but if you find that in real life it's 'that bloke is a complete wanker'.

Relationships aren't supposed to be difficult though romantic comedies like to frame them that way to create interesting dynamics, and Man Up does cruise through that, yet not in that typical manner. It's more of a different perspective, which I find rather believable. Simon Pegg's character Jack hasn't lost hope, unlike Nancy who's let the hurt hit her more thoroughly, so this is a thing that can easily be remedied by meeting in the middle. Otherwise there's always someone giving up something for someone else, and saying 'love is enough'.

You usually find me in the background throwing up when that happens.

I give this film a heavy thumbs up due to Lake Bell who is a true marvel to watch. Her character is charming and believable, the sort of person you'd like being mates with. Besides her chemistry with Pegg that's undeniable and fun to watch. Yes, it does get a bit crazy, but it goes with it. There's fun and energy and a circular dimension to this film that's rather unexpected.

This became an essay. I'll shut up now.