Isn't it bromantic? 'I Love You, Man' shows men will be boys
'OUR LITTLE group." That's Jason Segel's innocuous way of describing the collection of talent that's dominating Hollywood movie comedy these day thanks to an uncanny string of money-makers - the latest is likely to be "I Love You, Man," a so-called "bromance" that re-teams Segel with Paul Rudd.
'OUR LITTLE group."
That's Jason Segel's innocuous way of describing the collection of talent that's dominating Hollywood movie comedy these day thanks to an uncanny string of money-makers - the latest is likely to be "I Love You, Man," a so-called "bromance" that re-teams Segel with Paul Rudd.
It's the umpteenth variation on the favorite subject of the "little group" - the (generally sorry) state of things in contemporary guy-dom.
Rudd stars as an engaged man who can't find a best man because he has no guy friends (his favorite movie is "Chocolat"). He goes on a series of "man dates" to find a suitable buddy - it's Segel, who helps Rudd's character become a man's man. Which is to say, regress.
Segel and Rudd also co-starred in "Knocked Up," and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," brought to the screen by "little group" leader Judd Apatow, whose relationship with Segel goes back to the TV show "Freaks and Geeks." It's Apatow, Segel says, who sets the tone for the kind of comedy he does.
"The wave just before Judd's wave, the sort of Farrelly Brothers wave, was a little broader. It didn't need to be set in reality. The thing that's important to Judd is that everything be rooted in reality. The problems that everyday people have," he said.
Segel provided a notorious example in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." The movie opens with Segel stark naked, getting dumped by his girlfriend - an incident drawn directly from his own life.
"When I set out to write it, Judd gave me the best advice. He said, 'I don't want you to worry in the first draft if it's hilarious. The movie is going to be funny. We're going to cast funny people. What is important about your first draft is that it be based in reality, that it's honest and heartfelt. You can layer comedy on top of that, no problem. But you can't inject honesty into something after the fact,' " he said.
It all went according to plan. Apatow cast Rudd, Russell Brand, Jonah Hill, Bill Heder, Kristen Bell and the $30 million movie went on to make $100 million worldwide.
"Part of the reason this works for our little group is that we're able to make the movies for next to nothing, by Hollywood standards," he said.
Another reason is more technical - Apatow and his stable of directors rely on improvisational comics and encourage free-wheeling performances and long takes, then choose the best stuff in editing.
"We shot more footage on 'Sarah Marshall' than 'Transformers.' How crazy is that?" Segal said.
Directors often screen rough-cuts for test audiences and record the response, using the track to build the movie around the rhythm of the laughs.
"They went a step further in ["I Love You, Man"] and filmed the audience with an infrared camera, literally watching the audience to see how the laughter rolled, so you wouldn't step on the next joke," he said.
This may strike some as the movie-comedy equivalent of processed food, but Segel has another view.
"I think it's an illusion to say the movies are just laugh after laugh after laugh. The reason they work, the reason you don't get bored, is that there's an underlying story that's true and honest," he said.
"Look, I love the Farrelly brothers' movies. But there were a lot of imitators, and they weren't so good. The wave of movies that proceeded us were typified by a certain type of movie - guys who go to college and see who can nail the most sorority girls. In those, you're bored in like 20 minutes."
Apatow movies often get painted with the same brush - indulgent portraits of male immaturity. But Segel says "Knocked Up" and "Marshall" challenge the idea of arrested male development. The ultimate message is turn off the tube, put down the bong, get a job, make a commitment.
"My favorite scene in 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' is the one where I say [to his ex] 'you should have tried harder.' And Kristen Bell turns around and says, 'Are you kidding me? You wouldn't get off your ass. You were in sweat pants every day. I did fight. I just couldn't fight for any longer.' "
Segel says he's going for honesty again in his next self-written comedy - it's tentatively called "The Five-Year Engagement" - about a young couple whose plans are tested as they go through tumultuous personal changes in their 20s. *
Send e-mail to