The Five-Year Engagement

The ad campaign for The Five-Year Engagement plays up the fact that the movie is from the producer of Bridesmaids, and the writer/star, as well as the director of Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Audiences expecting a jovial and light hearted romantic comedy in the style of those films may be a little disappointed. Oh, there are definitely some good laughs here, but there's also a more serious and somewhat sad undercurrent to the film. This is the rare romantic comedy with something on its mind, and doesn't come equipped with a predetermined happy ending.

Is that such a bad thing? Of course not. The movie works, and like I said, has a number of good laughs, though not quite as many as the previous collaborations between writer/star Jason Segel and director/co-writer Nicholas Stoller. It also gets a lot of mileage out of its lead stars, Segel and Emily Blunt, who have great chemistry together as the couple at the center of it all. They play Tom and Violet, respectively. As the film opens, they've been dating for a full year, and Tom proposes on their one-year anniversary. Everything seems to be going the couple's way at first. Tom is a chef at a successful up-scale restaurant, who seems to be on the fast track for a promotion to head chef. Violet, meanwhile, puts all of her efforts into planning the perfect wedding, all the while hoping that her dream job of working as a psychologist at a local college University will come through.

As is often in life, some unexpected bumps turn up. First, Tom's best friend, Alex (Chris Pratt), ends up marrying Violet's sister, Suzie (Alison Brie), after she becomes pregnant. Their lavish wedding ends up stealing the thunder of Tom and Violet's plans. A bigger blow for the couple rears its head when Violet gets that University job, except that it's not local - It forces the couple to not only delay their wedding plans for Violet's career, but also requires them to move out to Michigan. Tom plays the part of the supportive fiance, and goes along with the idea, even though it means leaving his success behind. When they arrive in Michigan, Violet finds her career flourishing, while Tom becomes depressed when he can't find decent work, and his life becomes increasingly meaningless and dull.

The Five-Year Engagement tries to find humor in its scenario, and is often successful. But it can't be denied that the movie also hits a lot of serious notes concerning couples, and how compromising your plans and dreams can lead to hidden (and not-so-hidden) resentment toward your spouse or partner. Tom does indeed try to make the best of a bad situation, but as time goes on, he begins to resent Violet and her success. His jealousy is further inflamed when he sees his friend, Alex, not only happily married to his fiance's sister, but also enjoying great success in the job position that would have been his if they hadn't moved. The movie walks a fine line between laughter and pain, and it's a credit to the talented cast that they can pull this tricky combination off, without making the transition come across as being awkward.

I also admired how the movie actually allows us to get to know these characters, before throwing them head-first into the plot. We get to experience Tom and Violet at their happiest, so that when things do start falling apart between them, we share their pain and want to see them work things out. Likewise, the break down of their relationship is gradual, and doesn't feel forced. There's an honesty to this couple that we don't see in a lot of other romantic comedies. It also helps that Segel and Blunt come across as a couple that we can get behind, and have a natural draw. Sure, they've acted together twice before (once in 2010's Gulliver's Travels, and again in 2011's The Muppets), but this is the first movie together where they get to create a genuine relationship, and aren't surrounded by special effects or Muppets. By the time it was over, I thought to myself that I wouldn't mind seeing them work together again.

So, even if the movie isn't quite the light and breezy piece of entertainment that the ads are selling it to be, this is still a very smart comedy that's well worth your time. With so many romantic comedies choosing to play things dumb, the fact that this movie plays it smart is reason enough to recommend. Fortunately, there's more to The Five-Year Engagement than that. It has two great stars, a funny script, and it doesn't make you feel like you've been talked down to when its over.

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