A prova di matrimonio

Check out my review on my Blog at http://fameasserlufc.wordpress.com

Dysfunctional is definitely a word I would use to describe this film.

"I Give It A Year" follows the trials and tribulations of a young couple who, after marrying shortly after meeting, struggle through married life for the first year of their new lives. Rafe Spall and Rose Byrne are the couple in question but as their lives take a turn away from each other and into the arms of ex-girlfriends (Anna Faris) and business colleagues (Simon Baker) everything turns to turmoil with hilarious results.

Awkward is another word I would use to describe this film. Much of the comedy stems from the wrong thing being said at the wrong time in front of the wrong people. Steven Merchant's best friend role is one he plays to perfection as it's not too much of a stretch from his normal self as Ricky Gervais' right-hand man.

Spall is great fun in the film and has to carry a lot of the comedy himself, having a very quirky relationship with his Ex, where Byrne is a more serious person and the situations she finds herself in lend themselves more to the "should she or shouldn't she" question.

It's not the funniest film ever made, but it's well worth a chuckle and I can't help think that the film would have benefited more from a full cinema, rather than a 7-person screening (yes I was the odd one out). Comedy films tend to work a lot better when there's more people watching.

That being said, the first third of the film and the last third definitely have moments which are very funny and "Laugh Out Loud" but the middle section does seem to focus more on which way the characters will turn than the comedy aspect.

Worth a watch, by maybe a DVD viewing in a year or so rather than making a special trip to see on the big screen.

Very funny script, Stephen Merchant's best man speech will be remembered as a classic. Lots of funny interactions and one liners that sometimes come so quickly you will miss them , watch it twice to catch them all. Great casting an uplifting funny evening in , definitely one to watch when you need a smile. Recommended

The rom-com is such a commonplace genre that one has to work hard to come up with a new angle and this one is certainly more com than rom, starting where many finish with the marriage and then - like "Hope Springs" - examining how a partner's personality and habits can really irritate and annoy. At least the American couple in "Hope Springs" had given it a good shot and reached their 60s together but, as the title suggests, in this film it's downhill from the start and marriage is often represented as not so much a word as a sentence.

Written and directed by Londoner Dan Mazer and set in his (and my) home city, the English couple in question are portrayed by Rafe Spall and Rose Byrne (actually an Australian although many people think she is American because of the likes of "Bridesmaids") and their relationship is challenged by two Americans played by Simon Baker (actually another Australian) and Anna Faris, while some of the crudest lines are delivered by Stephen Merchant of "The Office" fame.

This is a movie with lots of chuckles but few laugh-out-loud moments that reminds us that sadly marriage is not always love actually.

I file this in the same category as Death at a funeral and A few best men: a nominally funny premise where the comedy is shoveled on with a trowel in a 'quantity equals quality' approach. Stephan Merchant's lines in particular are so cringe-worthy that after the 10th faux pas you know he's going to say something offensive every time he opens his mouth so there is no shock value left. Rafe Spall seems to be treating this as a movie-length episode of 'Pete vs Life'. This is a British film but it has all the hallmarks of a typical U.S. gross-out comedy, and all the shortcomings of that genre too. If you don't believe in the characters as real people then the comedy becomes like watching a cartoon. Be warned: if you have seen the trailer, then you have seen all the best lines in the film.

With so many modern romantic comedies reaching the point of unintentional self parody, we have (thankfully) seen a niche segment emerge that aims to subvert the conventions that have plagued this once frothy and enjoyable genre. Fare like (500) Days of Summer, Celeste and Jesse Forever and Friends with Kids have seen the sins of the father and have come up with ways to please mainstream audiences but without insulting their intelligence. I Give It a Year joins these rare ranks and delivers a sometimes gut busting, always frank and enjoyably clever look at the trails and tribulations of marriage.

There are certainly times when this British-American hybrid goes too far with its crude dialogue or goofy awkward rants but writer-director Dan Mazer still clearly knows what is funny, and his time writing for Da Ali G Show has served him well in his directorial debut. Certainly the heart and soul of I Give It a Year comes with the well matched talents of its two main leads Rose Byrne and Rafe Spall as a newlywed couple who tied the knot after just seven months together. We often cut back to a session with a brash marriage counsellor who probably does more harm than good and also with Natasha and Josh's interactions with a former flame (Anna Farris) and a business connection (Simon Baker) who may play a larger role as things unwind. Either playing off one another or interacting with the supporting cast these two bring the laughs and a believable depiction of a union in distress.

As can often be the case with a peak into the lives of others, especially into one not on the best of terms, awkwardness follows and so is the case with this film. Like being present as a third wheel while a couple have a spat, some scenes in I Give It a Year ring uncomfortably true. Thankfully what this film avoids is painting either Nat or Josh as the reason for the troubles – never opting to paint the wife as merely the shrill, bitchy ninny or the husband as a slovenly tool. Each have their faults, each have their positive attributes and each have the chance to be at the receiving end of an unnecessarily cruel insult or judgement. So while not likable insofar as we're viewing them in tough times, we are able to rationalize with these people and view them as real humans, not just as the brunt of jokes or mere players in a game of marital politics.

The laughs in Mazer's film come from multiple facets, may it be the interplay between characters, situational humour such as a trip to a lingerie shop, or its (often vulgar) wit. The funniest scene (and of the best of the year) involves a visit from the in-laws and a digital picture screen and needless to say the way that Spall plays the situation is absolutely perfect and had be reduced to a cackling idiot. If one buys into the often sarcastic and overly clever dialogue will come down to the viewer, but for the most part it won me over, in large due to how the cast deliver the lines and react in turn.

I Give It a Year also concludes in a perfect way and one that stays true to the same awkward, sardonic tone the rest of the film adopts. To say it slaps in the face every film that wraps up with someone literally running to the airport last minute to proclaim their eternal love would be an understatement. A closer approximation would be that it puts those offerings in a sleeper hold and squeezes out every ounce of maddening cliché. It's satisfying, funny and refreshingly direct. This act is preceded by what is also one of the best "reunion" speeches I've ever heard. I won't spoil anything as to how it unfurls but it too is cooling in its candidness.

While unfortunately not quite parody and maybe never quite as clever as it intends, I Give It a Year is still rife with mirth and deftly understands elements of marriage, relationships and most importantly the irritating formula of the rom-com. Earning its R-rating and showing unequivocally that Byrne, Spall, Farris and Baker are the things of leading men and women, this often uncomfortable but ultimately earnest feature is fun from beginning to end – something, as this film reminds us, is nothing at all like marriage.