In 2009, Paul Rudd was still a few years away from becoming Ant-Man. Jason Segel, hot off writing and starring in the quiet hit comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, was still entertaining television audiences every week on CBS’ How I Met Your Mother. That year, the two paired up along with Rashida Jones and writer/director John Hamburg (Undeclared, Along Came Polly) for the comedy I Love You, Man.

Rudd plays real estate agent Peter Klaven, who just proposed to his girlfriend Zooey (Jones) and has made a frightening realization: he can’t have a Best Man because he doesn’t really have any close male friends. After a series of “man-dates” with random men online, Peter meets Sydney Fife (Segel), a free- spirit, low-key guy. From movies to pop culture to an undying love for the band Rush, Peter and Sydney hit it off in true bro fashion. Maybe too well, with Peter’s relationship with Zooey suffering in the long run.

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The pairing of Rudd and Segel is brilliant, with the two switching their lead character/goofball character personas that they had in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Like that film, you get the feeling that there was quite a bit of improvisation when it came to lines and delivery, from Segel’s “anybody want a peanut” Andre The Giant impersonation to Rudd’s “slappin’ da bass.” Jones’ history on The Office as well as her starting with Parks & Recreation that year made her a perfect choice for the film. She performs on an equal level comedically with the boys while bringing the heart and emotion her character experiences in possibly losing her fiancé to this new friend.

With a hilariously talented supporting cast that includes Sarah Burns, Jaime Pressly, Jon Favreau, Jane Curtain, J.K. Simmons, Andy Samberg, Rob Huebel and a cameo by the Hulk himself Lou Ferrigno, all the performances are stellar. Backed by a well-paced screenplay by Hamburg and Larry Levin (Seinfeld) and Hamburg’s direction, I Love You, Man is a great comedy to add to your watchlist. Make some time for a viewing before it exits the library.

I Love You, Man leaves Netflix on April 1st.

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