Lovely Little Trailer for ‘Liberal Arts’

UK Release Date: 5th October 2012.

Stars: Josh Radnor (director & actor), Elizabeth Olsen, Richard Jenkins, Allison Janney, Zac Efron.

Plot: When 30-something Jesse returns to his alma mater for a professor’s retirement party, he falls for Zibby (is that really a name?), a college student, and is faced with a powerful attraction that springs up between them.

Josh Radnor is best known as the romantic relationship chasing and hopeless Ted Mosby on American sitcom How I Met Your Mother but this is his second feature length film as director, writer and actor. The first was Happythankyoumoreplease back in 2010 which, just like Liberal Arts, was a romantic comedy.

I think the trailer for Liberal Arts is very good and it looks as though it could be one of the most beautiful films of the year. It does have the feel of a small independent film and I think the trailer shows that the love story between Radnor’s and Olsen’s characters will be a great one; you get a good indication from the trailer that the chemistry is very real between them.

The story may seem a little bit recycled: teacher falls for a student. That’s because it is. But nonetheless it does make for interesting viewings and a lot of premises seem similar but it is the characters that are different and the journey that they go on that keeps audiences interested. Liberal Arts will have a limited release so it won’t attract large audiences but I think it could be a hidden little gem in a year where big blockbusters and franchises have been the talk of the cinema.

The Five-Year Engagement Reviewed.

The Five-Year Engagement sees Jason Segel continuing to try and cement his place as one of Hollywood’s greatest comedy actors following The Muppets and Jeff Who Lives At Home with the help of writing partner Nicholas Stoller. Segel’s latest offering comes in the form of a romantic comedy when exactly a year after meeting Tom (Segel) proposes to his girlfriend Violet (Emily Blunt) but unexpected events keep on getting in their way as they attempt to tie the knot with one another.

With most films of this genre you get the same thing over and over again: boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl split up, boy and girl get back together and live happily ever after. In The Five-Year Engagement what you get is an in depth look at the ins and outs of a stable relationship as it journeys through the ups and downs of life. I think that this is a great idea and shows that relationships don’t always run smoothly as plenty of other films would have you believe. I also believe that The Five-Year Engagement separates itself from other comedies aimed at an adult audience by being cleverer and, although we do get to see Jason Segel’s rear end on more than one occasion, a lot of the comedy is very well written and obviously well put together.

There is clear chemistry between the two leads of the film, Jason Segel and Emily Blunt which is obviously helped by their off screen friendship and the fact that the two of them have worked together previously. Segel puts in a great performance but I don’t think that we ever get to see the best of him like we have seen in The Muppets and television sitcom How I Met Your Mother. He is a very fine comedic actor though and brings out some good laughs here; I’m not a fan of Emily Blunt too much and at times her comedy efforts seemed a little forced. Also, her accent seems overly British even though it’s authentic, how weird is that?

The Five-Year Engagement starts off very well with some hilarious moments and really sets you up for what should be a laugh a minute film from start to finish. A lot of this is the emphasis put on the characters of Tom’s colleague and friend Alex (Chris Pratt) and Violet’s sister Suzie (Alison Brie). Whilst their relationship offers very little to the film as a whole their individual contribution to scenes are very well delivered. Chris Pratt is wonderfully funny in almost every scene in which he features and a particular scene featuring Pratt’s Alex delivering a presentation of Tom’s former girlfriends is my favourite part of the film and a brilliantly written and acted scene. Unfortunately, their characters seem to fizzle out and so does the film itself.

There is a reason that most romantic comedies are only an hour and a half long; the plot cannot sustain a two hour movie without lagging. The Five-Year Engagement does try and stretch over two hours and you would think that with five years of a relationship to tell then it would easily manage this without getting too boring. You would be wrong. It gets to a point where you think it could be coming to an end only to realise there is still about half an hour left and after a while the laughs become a sparse item. Don’t get me wrong, The Five-Year Engagement at times is hilarious and it is definitely a great romantic comedy with real stock in the lead characters but it tails off towards the end. It is still, though, definitely worth watching!

My Rating: 7/10.

Jason Segel in Sex Tape

This is not the latest Hollywood scandal, but instead the How I Met Your Mother star’s upcoming movie. With Jason Segel playing the leading man, the project is currently looking for it’s director and leading lady.

Jason Segel’s co-writer on The Muppets, Nicholas Stoller, was attached to direct Sex Tape but has had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. Stoller previously directed Segel in The Five Year Engagement but now, Jake Kasdan is favourite to get the job. Kasdan’s last film was Bad Teacher with Cameron Diaz and he has also directed a few episodes of hit TV show, New Girl, so would be a great addition to the project.

The role of leading lady in the comedy is still up for grabs, so who will be making this Sex Tape with Jason Segel? Segel, himself, mentioned Reese Witherspoon as a possible choice, but with the This Means War star recently announcing her third pregnancy she may not want to do this. Emily Blunt seems another favourite; she stars with Segel in The Five Year Engagement and actually lives next door to the actor and the two are good friends. Other rumoured choices include Rose Byrne and Jennifer Garner.

One of these actresses could be Segel's co-star.

It seems like Jason Segel is taking his assault on Hollywood comedy seriously and is quickly trying to become a leading man. With roles in Bad Teacher, I Love You Man and Forgetting Sarah Marshall under his belt, Segel really broke through with mainstream audiences with The Muppets and is looking to use that success to move his career forward.

Segel is a fantastic comedy writer and isn’t too bad as a comedy actor either so he may have what it takes to become one of Hollywood’s best comedic talents.

Sex Tape is scheduled for a 2013 release.

The Muppets Sequel Confirmed!

In the past couple of months Kermit and the gang made a successful return to the big screen with the help of Jason Segel and now it has been announced that there are plans in motion for a sequel to the smash hit to be made.

The Muppets won an Oscar for Best Original Song (Man or Muppet) at this years Oscar awards and Kermit and Miss Piggy even helped present another of the golden statues. The film was a huge success and I am really pleased there is going to be a sequel.

However, Jason Segel will not be writing this one and may not even be starring in it, which in my opinion would be a huge loss. The actor has said that he is ‘taking time out from puppets’ after successfully bringing them back to the big screen and is pursuing more ‘human related projects’ although he is sure he will return to the franchise ‘here and there’.

Segel has The Five Year Engagement coming out soon and is working on This is 40, a sequel/spin off of Knocked Up. And there is also another season of How I Met Your Mother to get working on so Jason Segel could be a very busy man.

Of course, if Segel doesn’t return then it’s highly doubtful Amy Adams would return by herself and although The Muppets is all about the puppet characters I was a fan of the human characters in the film and hope they will be back!