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I Give It a Year Reviewed by Damien Straker on February 17th, 2013 Hopscotch presents a film directed by Dan Mazer Screenplay by Dan Mazer Starring: Rafe Spall, Rose Byrne, Anna Faris, Simon Baker, Stephen Merchant and Minnie Driver Running Time: 102 minutes Rating: M Released: February 28th, 2013 |
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All comedy stems from tragedy. Comedy cannot exist with a
dramatic premise because drama forms the situations of reality from
which a
narrative can exist and develop. What is said within these situations
becomes the
punchline. The stronger the situations and the more involving the drama
of the
story, the funnier the film should be. Modern comedies though often
fail to
acknowledge the dramatic value of a situation, hoping the jokes will
support
themselves. I Give it a Year didn't draw a single laugh from me. It forgoes the crucial rule of humour: comedy must exist in reality. This is an anomaly for the British studio Working Title Films whose films, including Love Actually and Notting Hill, have grounded themselves in both quiet observation and dry wit. With a script by first time director Dan Mazer, the plot and the characters here are both underdeveloped and the jokes misfire from unrealistic situations and dialogue.
Mazer is a long-time collaborator of Sacha Baron Cohen.
He
wrote and produced all three of Cohen's feature films, including Borat, which were American-UK
productions. Similarly, this film is crassly written as though Working
Title
Films had a broader demographic in mind, to whom the subject of sex
might still
seem like the high point of comedy.
Josh becomes reacquainted with his ex-girlfriend Chloe
(Anna
Faris) and Nat is attracted to the smooth talking and successful
Guy
(Simon Baker), an American client who likes her but doesn't know that
she is
married. The familiar premise of two people already spoken for attaches
itself
to a gimmick where we are meant to realise that Josh and Nat don't
belong to
each other and are better suited to other partners.
Stephan Merchant is a hugely talented comedian but his
role
is singular: to be as obnoxious as possible, reminding us how even
Josh's
friends repulsive to Nat. He echoes Spike from Notting Hill,
but minus anything resembling a character arc. He
exists to say unlikely things, like a wedding speech where he talks
about
having sex with bridesmaids. It's unbearably grating and not funny. |