Featured Audience Ratings

• Film C

  
  An average romcom , its a watchable comedy with a few laughs. Blunt is enjoyable, Siegel is average!

• Cynthia S

  
  Well..this movie sweet, and funny at times. Gangbusters beginning, and adorable ending, but unfortunately the middle lost the spark. Not at all a bad film, just could have been better.....

• danny d

  
  this was a frustrating film. the actors were great and i loved seeing alison brie, but the first half of the film was so good, and the last half nearly unwatchable. the "falling out" sequence really derailed the entire film. it lost its humor and made the end awkward and… More
  this was a frustrating film. the actors were great and i loved seeing alison brie, but the first half of the film was so good, and the last half nearly unwatchable. the "falling out" sequence really derailed the entire film. it lost its humor and made the end awkward and less satisfying. the first half made me laugh enough so as not to hate the film.

• Nicki M

  
  Enjoyable. Some laugh out loud moments, but mostly just a nice movie about a relationship that has gone off track. Loved the cast, the sister was hilarious. Much better than I expected.

• Spencer S

  
  There was very little comedy in this romantic foil from producer Judd Apatow and director Nicolas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek). Both have worked with Segel before, and both have tried to create humor out of the ordinary lives of real people. This was… More
  There was very little comedy in this romantic foil from producer Judd Apatow and director Nicolas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek). Both have worked with Segel before, and both have tried to create humor out of the ordinary lives of real people. This was obviously supposed to have a lot of heart and be grounded in real life and love, but I got very little of that from this. The characters are always very awkward and when the trouble begins, very early in the film, it makes the characters unlikable and especially exasperating. We don't get a good enough feel for the characters to have them descend into depression at the very start of the film. Most of the funny moments are sight gags, which are all thrown in from the trailer. It's in no way heartfelt, whimsical, or tragic. It's simply somber all the way through, with deranged characters and a lifeless plot. What should have happened is that they kept running into roadblocks, and there was a lot of interesting and calamitous results from it. Instead it's just a couple of people who can't seem to communicate with each other. The setting is maudlin, the supporting cast is a bunch of two dimensional wimps, and even when they try to be odd or strange it feels so forced and offensive that I can't get into it. It deals with a very serious issue, and when satirical or slapstick elements are introduced, it's tactless at best. I am actually really angry and bitter about my viewing experience, because through all the sad sack scenes, I feel nothing for the characters. They are ill defined, whining people who don't have much to make them special except their careers and their docile lives. It was so gun ho in the beginning; I had to laugh at some of it. Then it becomes dangerously sallow until a great montage scene with Segel and Dakota Johnson that simply blew me away. It didn't even possess the decency to end with a true happily ever after, though we sat through the entire two hour affair (far too long for a romantic comedy) for that pleasure. It drags throughout and has little staying power. Truly one of the bigger disappointments for me this year.

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"This is supposed to be exciting. It's your wedding - you only get a few of these!"</i> One year after meeting, Tom proposes to his girlfriend, Violet, but unexpected events keep tripping them up as they look to walk down the aisle together.… More
  <i>"This is supposed to be exciting. It's your wedding - you only get a few of these!"</i> One year after meeting, Tom proposes to his girlfriend, Violet, but unexpected events keep tripping them up as they look to walk down the aisle together. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> Tom (Jason Segel) is a chef in San Francisco and Violet (Emily Blunt) is some sort of post-graduate academic in psychology: they are deeply in love, and on the point of getting engaged. Tom's career is doing well and Emily is looking for a local teaching post at Berkeley. However, just as they get engaged, Emily is turned down locally but is instead offered a post in Michigan. So they move to Michigan where Tom gets a job making sandwiches and hates it, and Emily gets on famously - not least because Professor Winton Childs (Rhys Ifans) fancies her. Inevitably, this friction drives them apart, yet they still love each other. This film has two strengths. One is that all the characters are quite good fun to be with. Even Tom's co-chef Alex (Chris Pratt), the graceless, crass, indiscreet character, is quite a nice guy and doesn't come across with the obnoxiousness which would have been there in an early Jonah Hill performance, for instance. And the other strength is that the central section, where Tom and Violet are moving towards splitting up and then do so, is unhappy and real. As a comedy, this has a fair number of chuckles and enjoyable performances (with Alison Brie as Violet's sister Suzie having some very funny bits of business), and a reasonable heart to it. It is perhaps overlong.

• ♥˩ƳИИ &

  
  "I really did enjoy the movie. I love Emily's acting, whether it be comedies or drama's. Jason is always a fun character that makes me laugh. The movie dragged a bit for me. I thought it was about thirty minutes longer then it needed to be. But it's a charming… More
  "I really did enjoy the movie. I love Emily's acting, whether it be comedies or drama's. Jason is always a fun character that makes me laugh. The movie dragged a bit for me. I thought it was about thirty minutes longer then it needed to be. But it's a charming rom-com that brings the laughs and has likeable characters. If you enjoy romantic comedies you will definitely like this movie."

• KJ P

  
  This is a very, very smart romantic comedy, but the odd places that this film goes to, is very weird and seems a bit imperfect. Not to say this film is perfect (because it's not), but I highly enjoyed it when it didn't put me in a depressed mood. The film is also very clever… More
  This is a very, very smart romantic comedy, but the odd places that this film goes to, is very weird and seems a bit imperfect. Not to say this film is perfect (because it's not), but I highly enjoyed it when it didn't put me in a depressed mood. The film is also very clever at using metaphors (such as "old donuts" and "cookies") to let the audience know the emotions of the characters. After a five year engagement, nothing is going right and the sadness of the film ensues. The second half of the film is not as good at the first half, but I believe the first half to be terrific, so take from that what you will. "The Five-Year Engagement" doesn't always know what it is trying to accomplish, but it's heart and soul is always present and I admire it very much for that alone!

• Reid V

  
  Somewhere deep down, deep deep down, there is a good film here. The first 30 minutes in fact had me very much hooked. It seemed to be a good honest look at a relationship and the sacrifices one must make in order to procure a better future. The actors seemed to be on point and the… More
  Somewhere deep down, deep deep down, there is a good film here. The first 30 minutes in fact had me very much hooked. It seemed to be a good honest look at a relationship and the sacrifices one must make in order to procure a better future. The actors seemed to be on point and the writing was rather touching. However, as the film went on it became clear that the editor had an aneurism during post-production. There were a countless number of scenes that left me wondering why they made it into the final cut. They did not help the viewer better understand the characters, they did not augment the overall narrative, or even at least serve up some decent laughs. Also, it seemed as though that there were 5 writers who were really interested in probing a relationship, but 1 who just wanted to focus on juvenile humor. I have nothing against juvenile humor, but in a film that seemed to want to offer so much more it just felt pointless. If they had fired that 1 writer and would have shaved off 50 minutes from the final cut, then I think we could have a fantastic film on our hands. Instead, fittingly for a romantic comedy, we are left only with what could have been.

• Daniel P

  
  This was a film with a lot of big laughs, and another one of those honest Jason Segel bromantic comedies - rom-coms, only the men are allowed emotions - but it wasn't his best work. I think the ending was just too cheesy, especially given how much they'd gone through to get… More
  This was a film with a lot of big laughs, and another one of those honest Jason Segel bromantic comedies - rom-coms, only the men are allowed emotions - but it wasn't his best work. I think the ending was just too cheesy, especially given how much they'd gone through to get there. Too long for what it is, but touching in places, and I'll say it again, downright hilarious by times. Mmmmeh.

• Directors C

  
  [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] Like a handful of the films off the Judd Apatow production line, The Five-Year Engagement is overlong, however unlike playing to the typical sense of humour found in the majority of his productions, the… More
  [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] Like a handful of the films off the Judd Apatow production line, The Five-Year Engagement is overlong, however unlike playing to the typical sense of humour found in the majority of his productions, the result is more likable and realistic rather than an annoyingly gross out and reliant on the power of invention. I think Jason Segel and Emily Blunt make an absolutely perfect screen couple with performances that deliver laughs pretty much consistently. Remarkably by Apatow's standards there is a lovely lack of raunch and resultingly you actually recieve the sense he's trying to be heartwarming. And it works very well, the film is free of an overdose of shouting, drugs, swearing and sex. It eventually falls apart in the end, getting a bit silly at that point, but generally it's a sweet, heartwarming, always hilarious rom-com flick. It's unremarkability and length may irritate some but it's impossible to deny that it always benefits enormously from the terrific cast it boasts. The fact that it's a fun, inviting, mainstream romantic comedy that really gives you the sense of engagement, is something to admire greatly. It's not perfect, but for that reason alone, it's definitely worth seeing.

• Manu G

  
  A comedy about the journey between popping the question and tying the knot. Good movie! Enjoyable funny movie that portrayed the modern day conflict of a couple with two careers. Who gives up what and why and how willing are they to accept the true full meaning of the compromise.… More
  A comedy about the journey between popping the question and tying the knot. Good movie! Enjoyable funny movie that portrayed the modern day conflict of a couple with two careers. Who gives up what and why and how willing are they to accept the true full meaning of the compromise. Several good points are made and good analogies used. Humor aside, the movie did seem to have a good message. It showed the problems sometimes couples face with relationships, and there are also some simple twists in there that keep the plot rolling. All in all, the movie is fun, will make you laugh, and is probably worth seeing. Exactly one year after Tom Solomon meets Violet Barnes, he surprises her with a ring. By all accounts, Tom and Violet are destined for their happily ever after. However, this engaged couple just keep getting tripped up on the long walk down the aisle.

• Everett J

  
  The title of this movie tells you everything you need to know. It's about a couple(Jason Segal and Emily Blunt) and their 5 year trip down the aisle to get married, and everything that goes wrong in between. It's got a lot of very funny moments and the performances are… More
  The title of this movie tells you everything you need to know. It's about a couple(Jason Segal and Emily Blunt) and their 5 year trip down the aisle to get married, and everything that goes wrong in between. It's got a lot of very funny moments and the performances are very good. Segal and Blunt have great chemistry, and I'd say this is Blunt's best movie since "Devil Wears Prada". I love Segal in just about anything, the guy has an "it" factor about him that doesn't come along very often. There is one big downfall to this movie, it is way too long. Just over hours long you feel like your with them for the full 5 years. So much could have been cut out, and it would still have been good, maybe even better. It tries to be like "40-Year Old Virgin" or "Wedding Crashers", but this one loses steam midway through. It still has a lot more hits on the comedy side than misses, it just takes forever to get through. Definitely worth a watch, just do your best to stick with it to the end.

• Liam G

  
  There are problems galore in ''The Five-Year Engagement'', from the pacing to the overuse of some of the supporting characters, but thanks to some great writing and Segel and Blunt's superb chemistry, the film is a very charming romantic comedy.

• Alice S

  
  Jason Segel really loves dropping trou. The trailers were charming, but this movie lacks any believable conflict. Violet and Tom are so in love and perfect for each other that when Tom's jobless ennui starts creeping in, it's a wonder why they couldn't work it out or… More
  Jason Segel really loves dropping trou. The trailers were charming, but this movie lacks any believable conflict. Violet and Tom are so in love and perfect for each other that when Tom's jobless ennui starts creeping in, it's a wonder why they couldn't work it out or why he couldn't just get a freakin' job. The supporting characters weren't that interesting, and the gags were overlong (Sesame Street voices, Alex's wedding song, Segel's dropped trou).

• Wildaly M

  
  Not that funny at all but has an interesting social critique.

• Kase V

  
  'Five Year Engagement' is the clear frontrunner for the best comedy of the year, so far, of course. The two leads are hilarious, witty, and unfaltering. Segrl is as amazing as he always is, and Blunt is nothing but with her charm and astounding comedic talent. Not only are… More
  'Five Year Engagement' is the clear frontrunner for the best comedy of the year, so far, of course. The two leads are hilarious, witty, and unfaltering. Segrl is as amazing as he always is, and Blunt is nothing but with her charm and astounding comedic talent. Not only are the leads great, but every single supporting player is guaranteed to deliver quite a few funny lines. I never wanted this movie to end, i loved it so much. Witty, poignant, and hilarious, please witness the funniest movie you've seen so far this year.

• Nate Z

  
  Relationships are serious business. In most Judd Apatow productions, they're funny business. With The Five-Year Engagement, there's romance to be found in surprising places, but the omnipresent feeling is one of dread. All those advertisements highlighting the comedy will… More
  Relationships are serious business. In most Judd Apatow productions, they're funny business. With The Five-Year Engagement, there's romance to be found in surprising places, but the omnipresent feeling is one of dread. All those advertisements highlighting the comedy will start to melt away, and what you are left with is a funny, if bittersweet, anti-romantic comedy, more uncomfortable with hard-hitting truths than congenial laughs. My theater even had a few walkouts. Tom (Jason Segel) and Violet (Emily Blunt) are happily in love. He's a sous chef in a trendy San Francisco restaurant and she's eager to gain a graduate fellowship at UC-Berkley in psychology. She doesn't get accepted to Berkley, but the University of Michigan offers her a spot. Tom and Violet agree to put their wedding on hold and move to Michigan so that she can take advantage of an amazing opportunity. Michigan is not to Tom's liking, especially since he can't find a fulfilling job and settles with making sandwiches at a campus sub shop. It's all just temporary, he keeps reminding himself. Then Violet's two years gets extended, and Michigan isn't just a temporary pit stop, it's possibly home. Tom's disappointment spirals, and he and Violet begin to drift apart, he resenting her for giving up his own dream to support hers. She begins getting emotionally attached to her Psychology professor, Dr. Childs (Rhys Ifans), in ways that straddle the mentor-student boundaries. Meanwhile, Violet's sister, Suzie (Alison Brie), gets pregnant after a one-night stand with Alex (Chris Pratt), Tom's best man and coworker, at the couple's engagement party. They get married, have kids, and Tom and Violet are still stalling. This is the story of two people who deserve their happily ever after except life keeps putting obstacles in their path to the altar. You will be unprepared for how sobering The Five-Year Engagement can be. Some of these arguments between Tom and Violet cut right to the bone with an exacting level of painful authenticity. The level of uncomfortable intimacy can make the movie feel grueling. At the same time, I don't want to give the impression that it's some Apatow version of a John Cassavettes flick. There's still plenty of comedy but the film is much more of a drama than any previous Apatow production. Part of the squirm factor comes in the very nature of the premise. The Five-Year Engagement picks up where most rom-coms end, with our happy couple together at last. We know these two are meant for one another; however, the majority of the screenplay involves watching two likeable, funny, loving people drift emotionally apart. Eventually they get back together in the end in a mad rush to staunch the gloom prevailing over the movie. It's a hard act to watch people drift apart, losing the connections that once bound them together, and witnessing the glow of romance fade into complacency and resentment. Again, this is all handled in ways that find humor in uncomfortable places (like Tom, hopped up on painkillers, apologizing for smiling during sad news), but it can still be uncomfortable, and I don't know if the ending, while happy, will justify the journey for many audience members. I was shocked how much I found myself relating to the plight of the characters in The Five-Year Engagement, so much so that I simultaneously felt an extra level of engagement and discomfort. I will spare you the gory details, as I am a gentleman first and foremost, but relationships that just fizzle out rather than ending in some abrupt manner (infidelity, commitment issues, lack of availability, etc.) are not any more enviable. I related to the general sense of malaise that can plague a long-term relationship, the feeling of being forever a plus-one in your spouse's circles, the resentment over the demands of a job or school, the small cracks that mask a lot of pain, the kind that is suffused with rationalization that to assert what you feel is to be selfish and inconsiderate, the loss of intimacy, physical and emotional, the guilt of being unhappy or making someone unhappy, and the sad realization that maybe love just wasn't enough. What happens when nice people who are good for each other are just dealt rotten circumstances? Phew. I feel like I'm turning this into a therapy session. Let's talk about something inappropriate in the next paragraph. The biggest reason for sticking it out, both for Tom and Violet and the audience, is that Segel and Blunt have terrific chemistry together. Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) is a big endearing lug of a man, and putting his career on hold to support his fiancé gives him an extra surplus of sympathy as we watch him spiral into despair and then resentment. He's a funny, likeable guy, and we know he and Violet are meant for one another and we want them to get together, even as this looks less likely to come true after the circumstances that push them away. Granted, you must swallow the hard-to-believe reality that Tom couldn't find a decent job in Ann Arbor, a college town that has to have some fine dining along the outskirts of town if not in the city. Blunt (The Adjustment Bureau) makes me fall in love with her yet again with a performance. Just like in 2011's Bureau, she creates a charming, vibrant, luminescent portrayal of a person in love, so much so that I am envious of the man of her affections (her pantomime of "Circus solei sex" made me feel all warm and fuzzy in multiple places). Violet has her own share of flaws but that just made her more relatable. I enjoy the way Segel, as a screenwriter (he co-wrote the movie with his regular collaborator, director Nicholas Stoller), is charitable with his characterization. He's not afraid to make himself look mean and hurtful and wrong. He's not afraid to make the girlfriends in his movies, even the ones who are about to dump him, justifiable in their decision-making. This is not a case of good guys and bad guys; it's much more like life where everyone can draw good reasons, and the consequences just suck. Out of all of the Apatow films, Segel has done the best job of making his characters feel most like actual people than broad comedic types. Luckily, the movie has its funny, peculiar little moments to make the drama bearable. I appreciate the little touches of comedy, which percolate through the heaviness. The wide supporting cast is peopled with the usual blend of oddballs and loudmouths. Pratt and Brie provide an ongoing foil as the couple who didn't seem right for one another, made initial impulsive decisions, but have stuck it out and are happy; instead of waiting for the right time they embrace the mantra that there is no perfect time in life but the present. Pratt (TV's Parks and Recreation) is great as a smart-aleck who grows into a responsible father. Brie adopts a British accent and becomes even more adorable, as all fans of Community would know. She's quite funny as Violet's sister and has a standout sequence where she and Violet have a very adult conversation in front of children so they disguise their voices as Cookie Monster and Elmo. The juxtaposition is a hoot and yet also a nice moment to add characterization. I also enjoyed seeing Chris Parnell (TV's 30 Rock) as a sad sack stay-at-home father who clears his misery with kitting. There are some gory comedic set pieces around arrows being shot into legs and toes getting amputated, but the movie's best comedy comes in the small moments, from Tom 's patchy "I've stopped caring" facial hair, to a self-described "pickle nerd" played by Brian Posehn, to the percentages of every undergrad named "Ashley" or "Zack," to Tom's hopelessly overmatched chase with Professor Childs, to a running gag about grandparents dying before Tom and Violet wed. I would like to take this time and observe that the University of Michigan, as well as its tenured professor, is responsible for the disruption of happiness between a young couple in love. How many other couples have you destroyed, U of M? When will your taste for suffering ever be quenched? And no, I'm not just saying this because I'm a diehard Ohio State Buckeyes fan, as well as a grad student. My point being: Michigan wants to kill Tom, Violet, and every person you hold dear (In short: Go Bucks). You'd think with a title like The Five-Year Engagement they wouldn't want to overstay their welcome, but like most Apatow productions, the film runs a bit on the long side. About 20 minutes into the movie, I felt the need to go to the bathroom. I rationalized staying put. Then about 90 minutes in, that urge became overwhelming but I reasoned the movie had to be over soon. And I kept telling myself that... for another 30 minutes. Then I just ran out and did my business, feeling the elation of relief. At over two hours, the movie feels excessive. Because of the drift away structure, the movie feels especially long in the second act, where we get hurtful scene after hurtful scene, and where Tom and Violet go their separate ways and start dating new people (the fact that Violet dates her smarmy professor feels realistic and yet also like a gut-punch to Tom). Some of the colorful characters that typical people Apatow productions feel more forced than usual, especially Violet's collection of fellow psych grads played by the likes of Kevin Hart (Think Like a Man) and Mindy Kaling (TV's The Office). They don't seem well grafted to the story. The ending, while welcomed, also feels unlikely given the proceeding drama, and its brash adherence to rom-com conventions is a tad disappointing. Watching the dissolution of a relationship is something of a hard sell to mainstream audiences, though Vince Vaughn was able to get audiences to see his anti-romantic comedy, 2006's The Break-Up, which admittedly had bigger names and a lighter touch on the material. The Five-Year Engagement has its share of comedy but it's pretty sublimated to the heavy drama of watching two people in love fall out of love and battle resentment, self-destruction, and apathy. Segel and Blunt are so good together we're willing to give them a wider berth to stretch their wings, sow their oats, and eventually find one another again, falling back in love after a flurry of obstacles, realizing that finding and connecting with your right person is an ongoing process and not some prize to be awarded. I found myself connecting with the movie in several ways, so much so that it made me fee dour for the rest of the evening (you may feel differently). The movie gets so many subtle things right about how relationships can sour, and yet it still manages to overstay its welcome and fill its roly-poly narrative with annoying characters. At least the movie has helped me discover my perfect woman: Alison Brie with a British accent. However, Emily Blunt will also do in a pinch. Nate's Grade: B

• Sam B

  
  When Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel team up, the results are usually very positive. These two have written two movies (both of which Segel starred in) that I consider to be classics - 2008's "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and 2011's "The Muppets." So when… More
  When Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel team up, the results are usually very positive. These two have written two movies (both of which Segel starred in) that I consider to be classics - 2008's "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and 2011's "The Muppets." So when the duo paired up yet again for "The Five-Year Engagement", there was reason for me to be excited. However, this film is uncharacteristic for a Stoller/Segel project in that it ends up being just a generic, cliche-ridden romcom. True, many of the jokes are genuinely funny, and Segel is at his best (far better than he was in "Jeff, Who Lives At Home"). Not only that, but the film also succeeds in creating believable chemistry between Segel and his real-life friend Emily Blunt. Somewhere along the line, however, the movie goes off the rails. It drags on for far too long, with a last act in which you know exactly what will end up happening and just have to wait for it to actually happen (and it doesn't really happen in any extraordinary way). On top of this, I was irritated to no end by the actor Chris Pratt, who seems to really think he is Seth Rogen, a strange imitation that came off as just annoying. Again, there are things to like about this film, and at times there is a moment funny enough to remind you that you are watching a Segel/Stoller comedy. But if anything, that just makes it sadder to see the film succumb so fully to romantic comedy formula.

• Bathsheba M

  
  Great romantic comedy with some really sharp schtickts (is that the word?)....When, for example, Segal's character goes native, with deer carcasses hanging in the shed and honey meade in deer hoof flagons and a Viking beard covering up his dopey mug it's completely insane… More
  Great romantic comedy with some really sharp schtickts (is that the word?)....When, for example, Segal's character goes native, with deer carcasses hanging in the shed and honey meade in deer hoof flagons and a Viking beard covering up his dopey mug it's completely insane and believable and topped by Blunt getting an arrow accidentally shot into her thigh by her niece. And the whole thing about: is there the perfect someone or do you try and make it work with someone who is perfect enough? Nice take on that. And the whole two-career family problem: whose will take precedence? Does shrink trump cook? Oh, I really liked the character of the pickle man/alcoholic too with his obscene observations then excusing himself with "I'm an alcoholic" and the watery applause that follows. By and large, I think that romantic comedies are getting funnier and more trenchant and this one contributes to that trend.

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