I'm kind of glad that Judd Apatow had nothing to do with I Love You, Man. By which I mean no offense to Apatow, but perhaps some to the movie. Before the end credits rolled, I was sure that Apatow had to have had his hand in the production somehow. After all, it stars Apatow alums Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, and hews so closely to the "awkward man must grow up and accept life as an adult, but still with his buddies" formula that you can predict the whole thing just by watching the trailer.
To be fair, I Love You, Man presents a different kind of scenario in which its protagonist must grow up. Real estate agent Peter Klaven (Rudd) has just gotten engaged to girlfriend Zooey (Rashida Jones), but soon begins to realize that not only does he have no one to ask to be his best man, he doesn't even have a single potential groomsman. To hear Peter's brother and father (background roles filled with aplomb by Andy Samberg and J.K. Simmons, respectively) tell it, Pete's always been more of a "girlfriend guy"; all his life, he's found it easy to be around women, but has never had a real male friend.
It quickly becomes all too apparent why this is. Peter goes on a series of "man dates" to find his best man, and simply doesn't fit in. At a poker game with the disgusting husband of one of Zooey's gal pals, Peter doesn't even realize he has a royal flush (and to add insult to injury, he projectile vomits all over the guy!). He takes one man to dinner, only to have said man take it the wrong way and French kiss him on the way out. Peter is so awkward, uncomfortable, and terrified that even I — no manly man, let me tell you — was beginning to wonder if he had been born naturally castrated.
Enter Sydney Fife (Segel). Sydney is your requisite Apatow Dude — smart, witty, geekily cool (he's got the right pop culture reference for every situation), and just pathetic enough so that you can't fault him for being so fucking awesome at everything else. Peter meets Sydney at an open house Pete's hosting for one of Lou Ferrigno's homes, only there to eat the free panini. Sydney doesn't really seem to have all that many friends himself, and instead of residing in the beautiful home his career as an investor has bought him, spends all of his time in a squalid shack he calls the "Man Cave."
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