Man Up (2015)

Best movie of this year hands down!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Blistering performances.

Absolutely Brilliant. I laughed. I cried. I WILL watch this again.

Like many other British romantic comedies, Ben Palmer's "Man Up" gets an immediate head start by being able to draw on the vast wealth of UK popular music. Here we have snippets of Paloma Faith, Duran Duran, Whitesnake and Elbow to name but four, and this gives just an inkling of the diversity on offer in Britain, and in this rather-less-lightweight-than-it-seems British comedy offering. And, given that the number of people (aside from myself) who can claim to like all four of these groups/performers must be close to zero, and given that all are nevertheless worked seamlessly and ingeniously into the content of the film, we can see the makers' triumphantly successful interest in reconciling different tastes and overcoming apparent divisions and difficulties that actually represents a hallmark of their film (just as they were hallmarks of "About a Boy", "Love Actually" and many others).Repeatedly, and with increasing intensity as the 86 minutes pass, we are shown how young and old might work together, and how people who ought to be resentful of each other can find some synergistic magic to allow all to come out ahead.This is then the pleasant and surprisingly powerful watching that accompanies a simple enough story of deliberately concealed blind-date identity featuring Simon Pegg as Jack and the intriguing-looking Lake Bell as not-Jessica-but-Nancy. The latter is American, but you would never know it, and she has a quite endearing ability to move from being relatively unattractive to super-attractive from one moment to another. There's never a dull moment on that score, and all the more so given the likable nature of her character.Indeed, Pegg and Bell do surprisingly well together, and one has to concede that the acting is actually of a pretty reasonable standard.This is not an uproariously funny film (and for me that's good, given that it's a reflection of a certain world-weary realism). Indeed - as the clear downside of this, like so many other recent British films, no opportunity is lost to recall and emphasise the key, nay sine qua non, role of alcohol in British social life. This lionisation of a drug that would obviously represent an instant crime were any other substance to be involved is perhaps - sadly - a reflection of real life, but it is also miserable, and all the more since the movie makes no bones about the fact that these people are not getting any true happiness out of the bottle, only "drowning their sorrows" in time-honoured fashion.A further point to criticise, and something that this film shares with "Bridget Jones" and other British stuff, is the entirely fake belief that laughs can be milked by the extremely regular use of four-letter words.Given these very noticeable downsides, it is surprising that the overall impact of "Man UP" is remarkably positive, primarily for the reason mentioned above.As a whole piece, then, this is really a presentation of eccentric, self-conscious, sometimes crude yet well-meaning Brits that is smooth, cool in its uncoolness, likable and sympathetic; and also surprisingly meaningful in its treatment of loneliness, the pressures of modern life, and the yearning for love that represents the great leveller for just about all of us. Ultimately, it is just nice to watch, and well worth watching - and I surprise myself by writing this, given that I had no major expectations at all.

My wife hates watching films with me because I tend to pick apart plot holes and character motivations, but with Man Up she was able to enjoy it because this movie basically shut me up!I thought the script was clever and the two leads inhabited their characters so well that any of the typical misunderstandings, misinterpretations, silliness and anger that are needed to create the "boy loses girl" segment of the formula seemed plausible to me. (Really "Girl loses boy" here, as this is Lake Bell's film.) I'm not as familiar with Simon Pegg as some UK reviewers here so I didn't see him as being "miscast" as others have suggested. I thought he was great.It's been said before but Lake Bell nailed her accent (in my untrained American opinion) to the point I thought she had been masking it in the few other films in which I'd seen her. As I said this is her film and she is terrific.I had a quibble when I wondered why Jack would actually enter the women's toilet (which of course punched up the Sean/Nancy gag), but both Nancy and he were quite tipsy so I can accept his action there. I LOVED their reactions after that, where they each fell back in their protective shells and argued using phrases those particular characters would have probably used before. Even the silliness of Nancy running/biking back to the cantina seemed borne from hurt (and a need to show him she wasn't.) The entire second go-round in the cantina with each other and with his ex I thought was spot on, with the perfect "closure" punchline.Those reviewers who expected more outright comedy I can understand as there's not a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, but the wry moments mixed with pathos to me struck the right chord to match these two lonely hearts. This script could even have been reworked as a straight drama with comedic elements and I think it would've been watchable. I hope that writer Tess Morris gets more opportunities, and Ben Palmer more feature directing chances, they deserve it.The only quibble other than the somewhat-over-the-top choreographed end run, which by then I was enjoying the silliness of it, was I didn't think the two characters would've waited til they were back in the train station to have the conversation that (temporarily) separated them, I think Nancy would've already invited Jack to the party by then or certainly Jack would've switched his phone on to check on the real Jessica earlier (probably when he was in the cab to the cantina racing Nancy.) I'd love to know if the writer set that up, or the director re-staged that in order to have them ironically part under the clock wherethey first met.But I didn't think of any of that til later so my wife (who loved this film too) still talks to me!

Well, this movie was unexpected! When we decided to watch it, I was kind of in the middle, as British humour is not easy for a non-native to fully grasp. And it was true that in times within the movie, I did find myself wondering about some of the things being said. Other than that, this was a brilliant, funny but also really deep at moments, movie that I really liked. Dealing with issues such as the estrangement of people in urban areas, failed marriages, etc, it was nice to watch. A situation and the characters that may as well be true in many cases, even with people we know. Although in some cases it bordered with these silly "Love-Actually" type of movies (which I also pleasantly watch), it remains quite serious and pragmatic. I really liked the creepy high-school lover that could not stop obsessing about her... Amazing acting altogether!