SPOILER WARNING: I
can’t completely discuss my main criticisms of this film without revealing how
the story plays out through the end. Read ahead at your own peril.
Emily Blunt is such a charming actress and has such a
light breezy quality to her performances that it’s easy to watch her in just
about anything. She has generally been the best aspect of bad and mediocre
movies like The Devil Wears Prada, The Wolfman and The Adjustment Bureau. Jason Segel is a charming actor of a
different sort. He’s funny, but doesn’t force it. Wisecracking comedy comes
naturally to him and his big and goofy demeanor is a valuable asset for
likability. They make a fine on screen couple in The Five-Year Engagement and initially I found myself, in spite of
all inner protestations toward rom-coms, hoping for the best of a lovely little
romance. We know going into any romantic comedy that at the end of the movie,
no matter what happens as it runs its course, the couple will be together. The
trick to be overcome is in making the journey surprising or at least
interesting. The Five-Year Engagement
gets about twenty-five percent of that formula by being somewhat interesting
and almost never surprising.
