I Give It a Year (2013)

Undescribable Perfection

The Age of Commercialism

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

First of all, from a cinematic and storytelling point of view this movie is bad. It's incredibly predictable and all the humour is forced and unfunny in the end. I have honestly had 3 small laughs throughout the entire film.Second, in order to be "hip", which is to demolish anything remotely traditional or not up to date or just being the complete opposite for no reason whatsoever, the movie delivers a distasteful message: the institution of marriage is an outdated formal sham which has no purpose or sense.Today's society dwells upon political correctness and not offending minorities, but at the same time ignores minorities or even majorities (depending on the country) to whom concepts like marriage or religion are still something important or sacred.Yes, people who are not happy with each other should not be together. At the same time, people who have known each other for 7 months and do not really know one another or have their relationship solely based on sex should not marry.Marriage is an institution which is based heavily on attraction and especially a preexistent strong enduring friendship between the two. Not everyone should get married. Only people who are also best friends, besides having obvious feelings of physical attraction, should be married.Even though this is just a mindless, commercial romantic comedy, the movie sadly speaks for this generation (which I am part of, but fortunately am not adhering to its principles - if any). If it were possible I would give this movie a -10.

It's love at first sight for ambitious ad exec Nat (Rose Byrne) and writer Josh (Rafe Spall) struggling after his first book. Her friend Naomi (Minnie Driver) says, "I give it a year." at their wedding. That seems to be the opinion of almost everybody about the opposite pairing. Danny (Stephen Merchant) is the embarrassing best man. His ex Chloe (Anna Faris) seems to be a better fit. Guy Harrap (Simon Baker) is Nat's new client. Nine months later, the couple feels something is wrong with the pairing and they go to counseling.There are some fun jokes. The comedy from the couple is mostly awkward. The pairing of Byrne and Spall seems off which is kind of the idea of the movie. Part of the problem is that their courtship is done in a series of montages. The audience never gets a chance to see them in love. They don't fit and they're not always naturally funny together. They should not play it as a rom-com. Instead they should be a lot angrier with lots of black comedy. Stephen Merchant is having loads of fun. Anna Faris has a weird threesome scene that seems unattached. Rose Byrne is hilarious in the dove scene. This seems to be a lot of funny ideas trapped in an awkward rom-com. Writer/director Dan Mazer who normally works with Sacha Baron Cohen is unable to fit his wacky sense of humor within the strict confines of a rom-com. He should skip the rom-com and make a truly black comedy instead. A black comedy would actually work quite well.

I always feel bad about being negative towards the British film industry. We don't have Hollywood's budget so I always try to support the national film industry. And, 'I Give it a Year' certainly boasts an impressive cast of fine British (and even American) actors.It's about a couple who have only known each other for seven months before they decide to get married. This film charts the first year of their subsequent life together. The characters are all beautiful, rich, thin people who work in trendy London offices, live in stylish Victorian apartments and can afford lavish, high-society weddings. The male characters are either or both selfish or stupid (Rafe Spall attempting to 'out-annoy' Jar Jar Binks at some stages). And the American characters are seemingly parachuted into the story to save the lovelorn Brits.I found the film a bit of an enigma. I stuck with it to the end and enjoyed some of it. Every scene felt like a sketch that would fit right in during an (adult) sketch show (think 'That Mitchell and Webb Look' or 'Armstrong and Miller'), however, using it in the context of an ongoing narrative, it just didn't work. The parts were funny; it's just they didn't seem to go with each other.With the calibre of acting talent amassed here, it should have been brilliant, yet, despite being funny, it somehow left me cold. A weird contradiction in film-making.http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/

The writer of this movie just isn't funny enough to have written an entire comedy. There are a couple of cute lines here and there but they are obscured by too much clichéd and silly dialog.A couple gets married but realizes they are not meant for one another when he connects with an old flame and she with a new client. The actors are talented comedy actors but they look ill at ease given the strained situations. Anna Faris looks so awkward here and she is usually such a good comedienne. The slim and beautiful Rose Byrne tries hard with an English accent and all. And she is still so charming it kind of rescues some parts of the movie. Simon Baker is wrong as an American business man. And he looks a bit old for the role.There are some terrible scenes, including the dove, the station finale etc.Maybe it is a well intentioned warning against getting married before knowing your spouse well enough and not having enough in common. But it is a painful way to get the message across.