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#117 - Man Up
Ben Palmer, 2015
When a man mistakes a woman for his blind date, the woman in question decides to go along with it.
So far, I have managed to avoid watching any Simon Pegg movies that don't involve Edgar Wright, Nick Frost, or long-established franchises. Despite the man's capabilities in terms of both comedic and dramatic performances, none of the films he's done that don't involve any of those aforementioned collaborators or factors seem especially appealing to me. However, since I'm already going through some relatively new releases, I opted to break the streak and try checking out a film that isn't dependent on the man's love of genre fare. Man Up is mainly about a thirty-something spinster (Lake Bell) who ticks off quite a few qualities common to your average female rom-com protagonist. Not only does she work at some loosely-defined creative job, but her love life is naturally in shambles as family and friends alike attempt to set her up with dates despite their mutual unsuitability and Bell's just-charming-enough-to-not-be-annoying awkwardness. Following an interaction with an obnoxiously cheerful young woman who gives Bell a self-help book, Bell attempts to return the book before being mistaken for said woman by her blind date (Pegg). Rather than attempt to correct him and get on with her rather busy day, Bell opts to roll with it and so the story really begins.
Even though I wasn't expecting great things from Man Up, I still found it somewhat enjoyable in spite of itself. I appreciate that it changes up the pacing of a rather utilitarian rom-com plot by taking the sort of dramatic reveal that would signal the end of the second act and deploys it much earlier so that you can see Bell and Pegg's relationship properly fluctuate and develop. However, such a change still exposes the plot's inherent flimsiness and results in the third act feeling extremely drawn-out as a result, which is especially noticeable given that the film's running time doesn't even crack the ninety-minute mark. At least Bell and Pegg not only have good chemistry together no matter what but still prove fairly capable in their rather one-note roles that are buoyed by some writing that may be snappy but lacks any serious bite. Other performers are serviceable enough, though I have to negatively single out Rory Kinnear's turn as Bell's former classmate who is also stalking her; his deranged giggling and grossly inappropriate behaviour result in a character whose out-sized nature feels very much at odds with a film that generally does an okay job of working around familiar rom-com tropes. While I can't exactly give Man Up a strong recommendation, I also can't help but find it just a little more charming than its superficially trite nature would suggest. A lot of this is down to Bell and Pegg, who start off the film as characters who are somewhat difficult to like and whose progression together is far from perfect, but they definitely earn this film some serious goodwill.
Ben Palmer, 2015
When a man mistakes a woman for his blind date, the woman in question decides to go along with it.
So far, I have managed to avoid watching any Simon Pegg movies that don't involve Edgar Wright, Nick Frost, or long-established franchises. Despite the man's capabilities in terms of both comedic and dramatic performances, none of the films he's done that don't involve any of those aforementioned collaborators or factors seem especially appealing to me. However, since I'm already going through some relatively new releases, I opted to break the streak and try checking out a film that isn't dependent on the man's love of genre fare. Man Up is mainly about a thirty-something spinster (Lake Bell) who ticks off quite a few qualities common to your average female rom-com protagonist. Not only does she work at some loosely-defined creative job, but her love life is naturally in shambles as family and friends alike attempt to set her up with dates despite their mutual unsuitability and Bell's just-charming-enough-to-not-be-annoying awkwardness. Following an interaction with an obnoxiously cheerful young woman who gives Bell a self-help book, Bell attempts to return the book before being mistaken for said woman by her blind date (Pegg). Rather than attempt to correct him and get on with her rather busy day, Bell opts to roll with it and so the story really begins.
Even though I wasn't expecting great things from Man Up, I still found it somewhat enjoyable in spite of itself. I appreciate that it changes up the pacing of a rather utilitarian rom-com plot by taking the sort of dramatic reveal that would signal the end of the second act and deploys it much earlier so that you can see Bell and Pegg's relationship properly fluctuate and develop. However, such a change still exposes the plot's inherent flimsiness and results in the third act feeling extremely drawn-out as a result, which is especially noticeable given that the film's running time doesn't even crack the ninety-minute mark. At least Bell and Pegg not only have good chemistry together no matter what but still prove fairly capable in their rather one-note roles that are buoyed by some writing that may be snappy but lacks any serious bite. Other performers are serviceable enough, though I have to negatively single out Rory Kinnear's turn as Bell's former classmate who is also stalking her; his deranged giggling and grossly inappropriate behaviour result in a character whose out-sized nature feels very much at odds with a film that generally does an okay job of working around familiar rom-com tropes. While I can't exactly give Man Up a strong recommendation, I also can't help but find it just a little more charming than its superficially trite nature would suggest. A lot of this is down to Bell and Pegg, who start off the film as characters who are somewhat difficult to like and whose progression together is far from perfect, but they definitely earn this film some serious goodwill.