I Give It a Year [DVD] [2013]

Product Description

I Give It A Year is a brand new comedy from the writer of Borat and Bruno that lifts the veil on the realities of the first year of marriage.

Starting where other romantic comedies finish, I Give It A Year asks what happens after the epic romance and the fairy-tale wedding? When the confetti has been recycled and the presents packed away.

Since they met at a party, ambitious high-flyer Nat and struggling novelist Josh have been deliriously happy despite their differences. As those luminary philosophers DJ Kool Kat and Paula Abdul once decreed, it appears that opposites attract, Josh is a thinker, Nat’s a doer, he’s laissez faire and she’s quite anal….but the spark between them is undeniable.

Their wedding is a dream come true, but not everyone shares their excitement. Family, friends and even the minister who marries them aren’t convinced that they can last.

As they settle into real life together, their apparent incompatibility only makes Nat and Josh more determined to make it work, but soon the absurdities and flaws they once found so endearing are irritating the hell out of each other. Chloe, Josh’s ex-girlfriend, and Guy, Nat’s handsome American client, could offer attractive alternatives…….. With their first anniversary approaching, neither wants to be the first to give up, but will they make it?

From Amazon.co.uk

If you're one of those who sits through the average romantic comedy and instantly tires of the formula, then the makers of I Give It A Year very much have you in mind. For this is a film that starts with the wedding, and then charts how things, bluntly, don't go to plan in the twelve months that follow.

The couple at the heart of the story are played by Rafe Spall and the always-excellent Rose Byrne, and neither of them play characters who come out of this particularly well. If there's a problem with I Give It A Year, it's that it's hard to root for the key duo, no matter how much fun the performances are. However, very much in the film's favour is the quality of its jokes. Director Dan Mazer has form working on the likes of Borat, and his ability to generate a giggle, whether comfortable or not, is very much to the movie's credit.

Furthermore, Mazer wisely stocks his film with some excellent supporting players. We don't see enough of the likes of Minnie Driver on screen, and her cameo here is a welcome one. Furthermore, Stephen Merchant's wedding speech is pitched exceptionally well, balanced cringe and laughs adeptly. And Anna Faris adds another good comedic role to her own resume.

I Give It A Year is sometimes a little raw, and certainly not a first date movie. But it is a funny one, and it is a movie that's willing to take some risks with the genre in which it finds itself. For that, and many other reasons, it deserves real credit. --Jon Foster