THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT by Pamela Powell

The Five-Year Engagement, Starring Jason Segel, Emily Blunt and Chris Pratt, opened nationally April 27 after making its debut at Tribeca. Tom (Segel) and Violet (Blunt) played a recently engaged couple who, due to life's wrenches being thrown into the wheel, continually put off their wedding date. 

Chris Pratt

Alison Brie

Personally, I wish they would have called it THE THREE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT.  While I found many parts funny and entertaining, I did feel that it dragged a bit.  Three years would have wrapped it up a little bit sooner and more concisely.  Segel was his typical sweet yet naive boyfriend and Blunt was the typical girl down the street.  OK, it was a very long street, as she is from England!  The supporting cast, including Chris Pratt (Parks and Rec) and Alison Brie (Sundance's Save the Date and Mad Men) added so much more humor to the movie.  The situations that the main couple found themselves in were quite entertaining with touches of real life.  Perhaps there was a bit too much real life thrown in there for my taste.  The absurd situations were what carried this movie.  Focusing on one aspect, the fun absurdity, may have made it a better movie to me.  

Jacki Weaver was a joy to watch, playing Voilet's mother.  After seeing her in ANIMAL KINGDOM, I loved her ability to be comedic.  Her timing was impeccible and her facial expression truly pulled off the humor.  Other supporting characters, Chris Parnell who plays the drinking, hunting, knitting stay-at-home dad was hilarious!  There was a common theme of choices made and how we make them to please others and in the process, we lose our own identity.  A very real position we all have experienced. 

As you can tell, I didn't love this movie, but I didn't dislike it either.  There were definitely some very funny parts, some great lines, and wonderful ancillary character development that really added to the overall finished product.  I just wished that they would have focused more on either total escapism or real-life with a bit of humor.  If you spend your $10 to see this movie, you won't feel it's a waste.  My recommendation is to wait for the DVD and spend $3.  For that price, you won't be disappointed.

RATING:  6/10