The Five-Year Engagement - 18th August 2015

Hello Tuesday Night is Film Night fan! (Is there more than one of you?)

We're back after a mini holiday hiatus and it's back to the good old rom-com for us tonight as we relax in front of; 

The Five-Year Engagement

Starring the tolerable Jason Segal and the gorgeous Emily Blunt, last seen here at TNiFN in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Five-Year Engagement follows this quaint and cute love story from a year after the time that Tom and Violet (Segal and Blunt) first met, right up to their wedding, if only they were to get married! You see and you may have gleaned this from the title, this relationship although loving and tender and destined for a trip up the aisle, is dogged by career moves and changes of mind. It is under this premise that the story unfolds. Ably supported by their requisite friends and relatives, they are encouraged and coerced to tie the knot. Unfortunately a career move for Violet, leads to a move from San Francisco to Michigan and Tom, a up and coming chef, has to swap a top job in a San Francisco restaurant, for making sandwiches in a Michigan diner.

So a fairly formulaic approach to the story, we have a quick build up and the relationship flourishes, but then as things change, the relationship spirals out of alignment and we witness, albeit with comedic moments and pathos, the dissolution of  this very happy couple. This part of the film, does tend to drag on a bit and although the jovial nature of the story tries to encourage laughs, it falls short sometimes. Also if you're in psychology that's good, as Violet is at Michigan University studying psychology, with the man who puts a spoke into the relationship, but we have to put up with some cross over between storyline and character psychoanalysis which although it works to a degree, there are areas that could have been cut and you would not have lost the core of the story.

The Five-Year Engagement tries to be funny and the supporting cast does provide the necessary levity, it's just not quite enough to fully put the com into this rom-com. As for the rom part, that's just fine. Don't get us wrong, it was a delightful and funny movie, it's just it could have benefited from better and indeed funnier writing, rather than rely on a lot of strange characters and there are a few of those. As Jason Segal wrote the screenplay, along with Nicholas Stoller, then perhaps he should have written some more funny lines, rather than rely on physical comedy.

At the end of the day, it was a good film, it just could have been better. The story was really good and the way the two main characters drifted apart was handled really well and the finale was, although expected, just what the film needed to round off a feelgood romantic comedy.

All in all, a great story idea, with mediocre writing, brilliant acting and an enjoyable ending. Worth a watch if you are a fan of rom-coms.

TNiFN Rating 71%

IMDB Link