Jason Segel and Emily Blunt play a couple struggling to plan a wedding as their relationship is succumbing to challenges of everyday life. 

Actor/writer Jason Segel teams up again with Director Nicholas Stoller in an attempt to produce more laughs and cringes like those created in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”. Dubbed a “romantic comedy”, this movie has far too much drama to be comedy. There are laugh out loud moments, no doubt, but that’s all they are, moments. The movie examines what happens when the road between engagement and the actual wedding ceremony is a tad bit rocky.

 Tom Solomon (Segel) meets Violet (Emily Blunt) on New Year’s Eve. One year to the date, he plans to propose to her. While everything involved in his plan seems to go wrong, she is surprised, thrilled and excitedly answers, “Yes!”

In most, if not all cases, after engagement comes the wedding planning. While Tom is happy as a sous chef in a popular San Francisco restaurant, Violet is anxiously awaiting news from UC Berkeley. Alas, she doesn’t get in to Berkeley, but is accepted at the University of Michigan for a two year program. Tom, the faithful fiancé, tells her “two years is nothing!” He figures that since he’s a chef, he can be a chef anywhere. They postpone the wedding planning much to the dismay of everyone in their family.

Tom and Violet move to Michigan and he does his best to adjust, but it is difficult. While Violet is excelling in her psychology program Tom is struggling with many things. He hates Michigan and his job, misses his friends and ‘’real” chef work and is just trying his best to fit in and be supportive. At some point, however, it all becomes too much to handle and Tom’s behavior spirals into what looks a lot like depression.

The emotional issues in this movie run rampant, from sibling rivalry and poor communication to parent/child relationships to inferiority, regret and helplessness. There’s a little something for everyone. Again, there are laughs along the way, but many of them you can view in the movie trailer. There are other things that I think are meant to conjure up a laugh, but just aren’t funny.

In the end, Violet and Tom realize that you can’t sit around waiting for things to be perfect. Sometimes you just have to jump in and see what life brings. Overall, Jason Segel and Emily Blunt have good on screen chemistry. In the end, the movie will leave you smiling, not only because it has a happy ending, but also because at just over two hours, it is finally over.

Fellow movie goer Bill offered, “I had a hard time telling if the movie was a comedy trying to be a drama or a drama trying to be a comedy. I have a hard time finding humor in the destruction of something, in this case their relationship.”

 
While I always enjoy the friendliness of the staff and ambiance of the Village Theatre, this is one I could have waited to watch on the small screen at home. It will produce laughs, no doubt, but it won’t necessarily leave you with an overall good feeling.

This movie has an “R” rating for a reason; lots of vulgar language and behavior.

Kellee Hearther

Online Editorial Intern

eCoronado.com

If you have something you would love to read about, please contact me at calikellee@gmail.com