I LOVE YOU, MAN (15).

Comedy/Romance. Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rachida Jones, Andy Samberg, Sarah Burns, Jaime Pressly, Jon Favreau, Jane Curtin, JK Simmons. Director: John Hamburg.

Coined in the mid 90s and popularised almost a decade later, the term ‘metrosexual’ is now firmly embedded in popular culture, redefining so-called masculine norms.

It’s now acceptable for men to clutter the bathroom with beauty products, and spend hundreds of pounds on their clothes and bodies.

I Love You, Man is a hilarious comedy which surveys the emotional fallout when a 21st century, 30-something metrosexual is forced to rediscover the primal hunter-gatherer within. Amusingly, his guide to the unspoken rules of male bonding is a confident gay man with a passion for sports, fishing and video games.

Writer-director John Hamburg’s script takes great delight in up-ending convention, milking laughs from unexpected sources as the lead character makes a series of blunders in the process of enlarging his circle of drinking buddies.

Los Angeles estate agent, Peter Klaven (Rudd), is smitten with his long-term girlfriend Zooey (Jones). He proposes and she excitedly accepts, telling all of her gal pals the good news.

Peter realises he lacks a circle of male friends to call upon as best man and ushers. So he embarks on a series of ‘man dates’ to find new drinking buddies, with encouragement and guidance from his gay brother, Robbie (Samberg).

Woman-chasing slacker Sydney Fife (Segel), who apparently earns his cash through investments, gets under Peter’s skin and the pair become best friends.

Zooey begins to feel a little neglected and Peter is forced to re-evaluate his priorities.

I Love You, Man bears the hallmarks of one of Judd Apatow’s bro-mantic comedies (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad, Step Brothers, Pineapple Express) but this is all Hamburg’s creation and a delightful one at that.

The natural spark between Rudd and Segel is irresistible, peppered with obscenities and ad-libs, building to a genuinely moving scene between the characters at the altar.

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