The Five-Year Engagement

I do not understand why there are so many bad reviews. The film is very good.

I was intrigued by Emily Blunt's presence in the film so I downloaded it and was very surprised because it turned out to be so much better than I expected. There is one noteable thing about it - almost all the situations that are supposed to make you laugh are at least 1/3 unfunny as they are. This is a very believable quality about the film - it makes you look at life from a distance and understand that all those stupid actions and decisions that people make are just funny as hell. And with a little love you can even come to a happy-end (I don't think it's a spoiler, this is obviously not Macbeth, you knew a happy end was there). But this is what makes this film an actual challenge for some people. It is NOT PLEASANT. It does not put you into a dreamy or giggly state. It is actually quite raw, sarcastic and real. I do believe that we live in times when real things are considered unnerving and even evil. Some people would very much rather have safe spaces built in every corner of the city and not deal with reality. Well, in true love there are no safe spaces. True love makes you stay with a person through all the ugly things and through the funny things and through the good things, obviously.

Acting is on the spot. Everyone knows that Emily Blunt is one of the most talented actresses. Jason Segel is handsome and compelling, support cast entertain you in every possible way. The dialogues are great. Everything sounds very natural.

7 our of 10 - because 10 is Fellini and Visconti. One of the best modern chick flicks I've ever seen.

Enjoyable funny movie that portrayed the modern day conflict of a couple with two careers. Who gives up what and why and how willing are they to accept the true full meaning of the compromise. Several good points are made and good analogies used.

Humor works for both guys and gals.

Without spoiling anything, the element used to mark time is somewhat dark.

Be familiar with the song 'Cu cu ru cu cu Palamo'. It is sung very well in Spanish early in the course of the movie with no translation but is tone setting for the movie. Used again in the credits.

At just over 2 hours, this movie seemed to drag at some points and several scenes could have been edited down a wee bit. Don't need to see something for 30 seconds or 2 minutes when the point is made and understood in considerably less time.

I don't see any academy nods for this one nor would I have expected any for this genre of movie but it was an enjoyable movie for an evening.

My wife and son were there and enjoyed it as well.

There are risks when romantic comedy is injected with "truth." Too little, and it feels like a desperate attempt to give the film credibility. Too much and it starts to feel uncomfortable as the comedy is buried in what appear to be a string of life lessons. The Five-Year Engagement tries to find a balance between comedy and truth and after a bit over two hours, almost succeeds.

That's not to say the film is bad. It's far from it, especially compared to what usually passes for a romantic comedy these days. Its leads (Emily Blunt and Jason Segel) have a surprising, easy chemistry and director Nicholas Stoller (who co-wrote with Segel) uses the talented supporting cast to add new perspective and layers to what is a pretty straightforward story.

Violet (Blunt) is a post-doctorate student. Tom (Segel) is a rising star of a chef in San Francisco. They get engaged on their first anniversary and while most romantic comedies would end here, The Five-Year Engagement does something that romantic comedies fail to do - showing what happens after the "happy ending." In doing so, we get to see every crack, seam and bump in their relationship, from Tom's resentment at leaving his dream job behind to follow Violet after she receives a fellowship at the University of Michigan, to Violet's increasing frustration at how Tom changes during his relocation.

It's a credit to Segel and Stoller that the situations that arise do so organically and don't feel forced in for shock value, and when things start to deteroriate, we not only see it coming, we solemnly nod because it is inevitable.

The film has issues, though, and they almost capsize the film. The most glaring one is the running time. The film clocks in at a bit over two hours, and you feel every grueling minute of it. The pacing and editing are a near disaster and at times, watching feels more like a chore than a good time. This is partially because the film, while billed as a romantic comedy, is only funny in spurts. The serious 'truths' of being in a relationship take center stage, which is in itself not a bad thing, but in a comedy, it really drags the film down.

The ending is typical rom-com schmaltz, though, as if the filmmakers snapped out of their malaise, thought "hey, aren't we making a comedy?" and wisely ended the film on an acceptably quirky note.

In the end, The Five-Year Engagement is serviceable entertainment, but could have been a lot more had they been able to strike the delicate balance they were trying for.

Daniel FilmPulse.net

In Los Angeles, the chef Tom Solomon (Jason Segel) meets the psychologist Violet Barnes (Emily Blunt) in a New Year's Eve party and they immediately fall in love with each other. One year later, Tom proposes Violet to get married and they schedule their wedding date. However, the application of Violet to the University of Michigan to a master's degree is accepted and Tom declines to the offer of his boss Chef Sally (Lauren Weedman) to be the chef of a famous restaurant that belongs to her. His best friend and assistant Alex Eilhauer (Chris Pratt), who is married with Violet's sister Suzie Barnes-Eilhauer (Alison Brie), accepts the position. They postpone the wedding and Tom and Violet move to Berkley for two years. While Violet befriends her Professor Winton Childs (Rhys Ifans) and colleagues, Tom has difficulties to find a job and work is a restaurants specialized in sandwiches. Two years later, when Tom is ready to return to Los Angeles, Violet is invited to be assistant professor in Michigan. What will happen to the couple?

"The Five-Year Engagement" is a delightful romantic comedy with the lovely Emily Blunt in the lead role. The plot combines romance, drama, comedy and black humor in right doses and the only boring moment is when Chris Pratt sings – probably he is a better chef than singer. Jason Segel shows great chemistry with Emily Blunt and is easy to understand the relationship problems due to professional realization. The beauty of Dakota Johnson is amazing but her shallow relationship of her character with Tom is not well explored. One of the best moments is when Tom has lunch with his parents. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Cinco Anos de Noivado" ("Five-Year Engagement")

These are just in the first 30 minutes of this piece of crap.

1. There's the "this Korean, that Korean" in buddy's engagement party song 2. What's with the inexplicably mute father's Asian girlfriend? 3. Why does the Asian guy at Michigan have the phoniest accent? 4. There's the Indian guy at restaurant he's applying for, from 40 year old Virgin, who I guess is funny, because he says "fuck" with a Jamaican accent.

Stopped watching this crap after 30 minutes. This is why Hollywood sucks. There are too many white, Jewish guys who have their yarmulkes so far up their privileged Lilly asses, they don't know what the world is really like.