Man Up

Man Up is a British romantic comedy about a man and a woman who meets on a blind date. Simon Pegg plays Jack, a 40 year old divorced man who has planned a blind date with a 24 year old girl. Lake Bell plays the 34 year old Nancy who is taking the train home to her parents wedding anniversary. Nancy accidentally meet Jack's blind date and switch places with her when she discovers that the girl forgot her book, the one thing she needed to bring to the date. Jack is totally unaware of the switch and immediately takes Nancy, the wrong girl, out on the streets of London.

Man Up is definitely among the best romantic comedies I've seen in a long time. With a farce like humor and a perfect timing in editing and story, the film rushes away with the speed of a car chase. Nancy is at first forced to lie to Jack so that he doesn't suspect anything and he also deliberately hides his past to avoid looking foolish. After a while as the film goes on they both discover that they are very alike. Willingly and unwillingly they expose their best and worst sides of themselves for each other. It becomes some sort of race between them, a race impossible to win.

We are thrown out into London's night life with bowling, bars and portable restaurants. In some way the director is able to catch the characters' many sides in a very short time. At the same time every location they visit, plays a big part for the whole picture. They both encounter people from their past, each one affecting their date positively and negatively. Do not miss the very funny London taxi vs bike race between them. It is a very quick and incredibly refreshing romantic comedy after a couple of years with pretty lame and mediocre films in the same genre. I almost thought that the romcom film had died out, but here we actually get proof that it still works. Come on, more films like this.

At times very uncomfortable and awkward,but well paced and with balanced emotional scenes

Nancy (Lake Bell) is a 34 year old single and tired of being set up. She's on the train to her parents' anniversary party when she encounters 24 year old relentlessly optimistic Jessica (Ophelia Lovibond). Jessica is a devotee of a self-help book on her way to a blind date with divorcée Jack (Simon Pegg). Jessica leaves her book with Nancy. Unwilling to take it, Nancy races to return it back to Jessica only to be intercepted by Jack who mistakes her for Jessica. Nancy is intrigued and steals the blind date.

The premise is unusual. It comes with some potential pitfalls but the script handles each one with fun. It eventually follows the try-and-true rom-com formula but it also has a few surprises. Lake Bell is delightful even with her fake accent. Simon Pegg hits exactly the right notes at the right times. They are delightfully fun together and I love "Nancy!". I laughed whenever they yelled it. Each turn delivers touching fun and these two are a superb duo.

Good rom coms are hard to come by, so chalk it up to low expectations, but "Man Up" was a nice surprise. Simon Pegg and Lake Bell have oodles of chemistry, and there are some really funny scenes between them. It doesn't hurt that it's a British film, and everything sounds funnier in a British accent.

Grade: A-

I usually do not like romcoms, since most of the time they are very predictable, with a happy ending etc. Was this a classic romcom? Yes, it kind of was, at least in its essence, but that does not mean i did not enjoy it, it just felt somehow awkwardly right.

It really is surprisingly likable, hence most of the reviews are decent on this movie. The film has great flow, pace and it just somehow feels right, it is cringy at moments, funny, sad and thoroughly enjoyable. The greatest asset of this movie is its success of making you feel happy, energized and with a positive look at life.

Has many awkwardly cringy/funny moments, time passes by in a heartbeat, though the screen time is fairly short too. Its going to impress even those who traditionally dislike romantic comedies. Of course it is not spot on perfect, but for a short British romcom it is very successful and has fairly decent acting.