Romantic comedies are ten a penny, or if your reading this Stateside, a dime a dozen. And to be frank many offer nothing new and are generally the same old tripe with a different bunch of actors. Thankfully, The Five Year Engagement doesn’t come under this umbrella. Sure, it is a romantic comedy, but it’s got a huge heart which is worn well and truly on its sleeve.
Starring Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, as the recently engaged happy couple who experience a delay or two on the way to the altar. Well, try five years, hence the title, but you guessed that already no doubt. That’s it story wise. And while the story gets a bit predictable on occasion, it doesn’t matter. Segel and Blunt do an amazing job as Tom and Violet. They have a genuine chemistry together and are entirely believable as this couple in turmoil. Incidentally, listen to my interview with Jason Segel to find out why they work so well!
There is a solid supporting cast here and again, all are incredibly likeable and watchable. But for me, the leads are simply brilliant. Segel tips Blunt here, but only just and Rhys Ifans is thoroughly a joy to watch on the screen as Winston Childs, a big wig professor. At two hours long, The Five Year Engagement is one of the longer rom-coms around, and truth be told, it’s far better for it. It never feels rushed and is really well paced, but with characters this convincing it's doesn’t even matter. You could easily watch them for alot longer to be honest.
There’s a number of real laugh out loud moments throughout, not that I’ll give any away here, but prepare to choke on the popcorn a number of times. Besides the comedy element, the movie has genuinely got a huge heart. This is where it comes into its own and is leaps and bounds above your average rom-com. It’s rare to see a movie in this genre have so much heart, and the finale will certainly bring a tear to the eye, and that will happen more than once.
The Five Year Engagement is the romantic comedy of the year, and to be honest it’s not really fair to class it as a romantic comedy as it offers so much more. Overall this is a must watch with a very clever script, fantastic characters and bucket loads of heart! Check it out!
