One of the press releases proclaimed I Give it a Year as the best British film of the year. Fortunately, the year is still very young. And last year they saved the best, Sightseers, for last. Fear not, there is still much cause for hope.
The title and the trailer tell you everything you need to know, so no synopsis here. It begins strongly with a 'watch through your fingers' best man's speech from Danny (Stephen Merchant), which, though he cannot hope to match that speech from Four Weddings and a Funeral, prompts as many chuckles as he does groans. He doesn't merely dig himself a hole of humiliation, he keeps on digging until he disappears from sight, unaware that everyone else is either squirming or preparing to kill.
The wedding scenes establish I Give it a Year perfectly, providing plenty of evidence of how woefully mismatched couple, Josh (Rafe Spall) and Nat (Rose Byrne) are and the relationships between couple and in-laws, while providing plenty of opportunity for background humour. Watch for the destruction caused by the horribly twee and ecologically disastrous tradition of Chinese lanterns.
And then it thuds.
I Give it a Year desperately wants to be an original rom-com but it hasn't the balls to see it through.
*********** MASSIVE PLOT SPOILER ALERT *********** Writer Dan Mazer hit an Oscar-nominated high with his screenplay for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan but fails to come even close to that constant barrage of gags and clever dialogue. And not even the director can save him because, oh, it's Dan Mazer. He presents a couple whose biggest crime is not being stereotypical but being unpleasant at heart. They both fall for other people (Josh for Chloe, his ex-girlfriend; Nat for Guy, a new client) who are genuine and more interested in other people and helping make the world a better place than in wearing designer labels or climbing the career ladder.
While at first Josh appears devoted to Nat, we discover he's critical, lazy and controlling. And Nat, though apparently a sweet Venus, is actually self-centred, demanding and lacking in understanding. Meanwhile, Chloe (Anna Faris) and Guy (Simon Baker) are presented to us as perfect. When they are thrust together by default it is a moment to exhale a satisfied sigh and expect an evolving script that bravely gives the unpleasant leads their comeuppance and allows the underdogs true love and happiness.
But that initial hint at Mazer's ability to give us something new with I Give it a Year is short lived and he fails monumentally by having the wrong couples get together when they are clearly not suitable for each other. What is he playing at? It isn't sweet, it isn't romantic, it isn't a tail of love, it's a balls-up of a genuinely good idea. It rarely climbs above 'vaguely amusing' and frequently falls below 'ho-hum.' Moreover, when we hit the final scene where true love supposedly finds its way, it's just an amateurish mess that leaves us annoyed.
That said, the presence of Minnie Driver as Nat's a sour-faced friend almost makes the 97-minute running time worthwhile. Her glares may be withering but the way she scythes her husband (Jason Flemying) is delightful and Mazer has the good sense not to over-do her appearances.
The funniest lines are delivered by the underused Nigel Planer (curiously uncredited on IMDb) as Josh's dad and Jane Asher as the mother-in-law from hell (you'll need to watch the credits for her humdinger) but the thief of the film is Olivia Colman. Again. While her first scene as the marriage guidance counsellor edges towards pantomime, her later scene where she lets rip at her husband over the phone is comedy magic and the standout moment of I Give it a Year.
Alas, it's not enough to make the admission price worthwhile.
I Give it a Year is neither the worst nor the funniest film of 2013. The year is in its infancy and we'll see more at either end of the scale in the coming 11 months. It is little more than another wasted idea with a few very funny moments that won't justify your time or the production budget.
For more reviews from The Squiss, subscribe to my blog and like the Facebook page.
The title and the trailer tell you everything you need to know, so no synopsis here. It begins strongly with a 'watch through your fingers' best man's speech from Danny (Stephen Merchant), which, though he cannot hope to match that speech from Four Weddings and a Funeral, prompts as many chuckles as he does groans. He doesn't merely dig himself a hole of humiliation, he keeps on digging until he disappears from sight, unaware that everyone else is either squirming or preparing to kill.
The wedding scenes establish I Give it a Year perfectly, providing plenty of evidence of how woefully mismatched couple, Josh (Rafe Spall) and Nat (Rose Byrne) are and the relationships between couple and in-laws, while providing plenty of opportunity for background humour. Watch for the destruction caused by the horribly twee and ecologically disastrous tradition of Chinese lanterns.
And then it thuds.
I Give it a Year desperately wants to be an original rom-com but it hasn't the balls to see it through.
*********** MASSIVE PLOT SPOILER ALERT *********** Writer Dan Mazer hit an Oscar-nominated high with his screenplay for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan but fails to come even close to that constant barrage of gags and clever dialogue. And not even the director can save him because, oh, it's Dan Mazer. He presents a couple whose biggest crime is not being stereotypical but being unpleasant at heart. They both fall for other people (Josh for Chloe, his ex-girlfriend; Nat for Guy, a new client) who are genuine and more interested in other people and helping make the world a better place than in wearing designer labels or climbing the career ladder.
While at first Josh appears devoted to Nat, we discover he's critical, lazy and controlling. And Nat, though apparently a sweet Venus, is actually self-centred, demanding and lacking in understanding. Meanwhile, Chloe (Anna Faris) and Guy (Simon Baker) are presented to us as perfect. When they are thrust together by default it is a moment to exhale a satisfied sigh and expect an evolving script that bravely gives the unpleasant leads their comeuppance and allows the underdogs true love and happiness.
But that initial hint at Mazer's ability to give us something new with I Give it a Year is short lived and he fails monumentally by having the wrong couples get together when they are clearly not suitable for each other. What is he playing at? It isn't sweet, it isn't romantic, it isn't a tail of love, it's a balls-up of a genuinely good idea. It rarely climbs above 'vaguely amusing' and frequently falls below 'ho-hum.' Moreover, when we hit the final scene where true love supposedly finds its way, it's just an amateurish mess that leaves us annoyed.
That said, the presence of Minnie Driver as Nat's a sour-faced friend almost makes the 97-minute running time worthwhile. Her glares may be withering but the way she scythes her husband (Jason Flemying) is delightful and Mazer has the good sense not to over-do her appearances.
The funniest lines are delivered by the underused Nigel Planer (curiously uncredited on IMDb) as Josh's dad and Jane Asher as the mother-in-law from hell (you'll need to watch the credits for her humdinger) but the thief of the film is Olivia Colman. Again. While her first scene as the marriage guidance counsellor edges towards pantomime, her later scene where she lets rip at her husband over the phone is comedy magic and the standout moment of I Give it a Year.
Alas, it's not enough to make the admission price worthwhile.
I Give it a Year is neither the worst nor the funniest film of 2013. The year is in its infancy and we'll see more at either end of the scale in the coming 11 months. It is little more than another wasted idea with a few very funny moments that won't justify your time or the production budget.
For more reviews from The Squiss, subscribe to my blog and like the Facebook page.