I Give It a Year is an awkward romcom with Rose Byrne, Anna Faris, Stephen Merchant, Rafe Spall and Simon Baker.
by Genna Patterson
If you like a good awkward silence after someone has said something inappropriate, then this is your film, it’s full of them. In fact, this movie banks on the awkward silence. Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids) and Rafe Spall (Life of Pi) are a couple, Josh and Nat who get married after 7 months and many warnings from their friends. Soon they begin to realize that the first year of marriage is hard, especially if you’re not compatible. Enter the other love interests.
Anna Faris – dowdied up with long boring ‘nice girl’ brown hair is the ex-girlfriend Chloe. She’s some sort of charity worker who left him for four years to work in Africa and still holds a flame for him. The Mentalist actor Simon Baker is the charming businessman Guy, set on wooing Nat away from her husband. Stephen Merchant adds his usual ‘say the wrong thing at any time’ comedy as the best friend to Josh. Minnie Driver also appears as the marriage-weary sister to Nat.
Director, Dan Mazar, (writer and producer of Bruno and director of the Ali-G show), goes for gold in an attempt to steal the gold from go-to Brit romcom Four Weddings and a Funeral. While it has it’s funny moments, and starts out exceptionally well with Stephen Merchant’s painful wedding speech, it falls into a lull midway through the movie. Top scenes include Anna Faris attempting a threesome with a greedy female co-worker and the charades game with the granny – both for pure uncomfortably funny situations. There are more moments than you can count where you wish the ground would swallow you or the characters up just to end the pain.
The cast gives solid performances although you can’t help but think Simon Baker must be cringing inside with some of the corny lines he has to spout as the slick American suitor. Rose Byrne was better as Helen in Bridesmaids, but you can’t play the same character every time (we’re looking at you Adam Sandler). Minnie Driver probably gets some of the best lines, especially when she talks about what she’d like to do to pop star Justin Bieber. If you’re easily shocked, your mouth will remain on the floor for most of the movie.
I Give It a Year – I give it a low high five for trying and then a fist pump for the most awkward situation comedy moments since Borat. Released on February 8, just in time for Valentines Day, it wouldn’t be the worst movie you’d drag the fella to see. Tell him Rose Byrne gets her kit off and he might be more willing.
