The Five-Year Engagement

There is nothing particularly cinematic about “The Five-Year Engagement." Same with “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” and yet both of them work so well. Writers Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller aren’t interested in making any epic romances, but instead looking at the relatable intimate moments in a relationship without clear solutions.

In “Engagement,” it isn’t about whether or not Tom (Segel) and Violet (Emily Blunt) will get together but whether they can stay together. After dating for a year, Tom pops the question to an overjoyed Violet. They are all set to have their wedding before the big news that Violet got into the graduate program in the University of Michigan. Thinking that two years there will be a piece of cake, Tom is more than happy to support her career.

Michigan isn’t a terrible place to live. It’s just not what Tom wants. Back in California, he was on his way to being the head chef at his own restaurant. He knows it’s not fair to ask Violet to stop her career for him, so he pauses his own. As the title suggests, more time is taken to figure out what can be done for both parties to be happy.

Very few romantic comedies even acknowledge any real-world variables for its characters. It’s only about whether or not the two really love each other enough to make their miniscule differences work. While “Engagement” remains heightened and sentimental, it is always earned because it addresses the core problem with maturity.

Then, through all of this, it’s still really funny. Usually in a romantic comedy like this, it’s up to the leads to have the emotional arc and all of the supporting actors to bring the laughs. This movie proves more than anything that Blunt ought to be in more comedies because she can have the greatest goofiest face when need be. (Also some impressive impressions.) Segel and Blunt have great chemistry and are allowed to be funny throughout all of their struggles.

That just means the rest of the cast is icing on the icing on the cake. Chris Pratt (“Parks and Recreation”) is a counterpart to Segel. Mindy Kaling, Kevin Hart, Chris Parnell, Randall Park, Brain Posehn, David Paymer and Mimi Kennedy are all fantastic with their ability to add so much to their smaller roles. However, the one who steals the show is Alison Brie and not only because she has a British accent. (It helps.) If “Community’s” Donald Glover deserves an Emmy just for crying, Brie deserves an Oscar for crying and still trying to give an engagement speech.

By the end of the film, I had a big smile on my face after laughing for a long time. It’s rare for any film to prolong something for the whole duration of the film and have a satisfying payoff. This film does it because it really cares about where the characters are going. I want this to be a regular thing for Segel and Stoller to team up and make another personal and silly tale about modern relationships. Especially if it means more British Alison Brie.