I Love You, Man is a 2009 American buddy comedy film written and directed by John Hamburg, based on a script by Larry Levin. The film stars Paul Rudd as a friendless man looking for a best man for his upcoming wedding. However, his new best friend (Jason Segel) is straining his relationship with his bride (Rashida Jones).

The film was released theatrically in the United States on March 20, 2009, to mostly positive reviews. The film grossed $92 million on a $40 million budget. It marked the third collaboration between Segel and Rudd, after Knocked Up (2007) and Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008).

Plot

Peter Klaven, a Los Angeles real estate agent, proposes to his girlfriend Zooey Rice, and she accepts. Peter seems to not have any close male friends to share the news with, only family and mainly female acquaintances. After overhearing her friends voicing their concerns over his lack of close male friends, Peter decides he needs to find male friends to have a best man for the upcoming wedding.

Peter turns to his gay younger brother, Robbie, for advice on dealing with men. Making a series of overtures toward various men, including Barry, the persistently hot-headed husband of Zooey s friend Denise who doesn t like Peter too much—a problem which only escalates when Peter, after winning a beer-drinking contest, inadvertently projectile-vomits on Barry.

Feeling rejected, Peter is about to give up when, at an open house at Lou Ferrigno s mansion which Peter is trying to sell, he meets Sydney Fife, an investor who is attending the show to pick up divorced women and take advantage of the free food. They quickly become friends, bonding over their mutual adoration of the progressive rock band Rush. Peter introduces Sydney to Zooey at their engagement party, but unfortunately a nervous Sydney makes a very awkward toast which includes veiled encouragement for Zooey to perform oral sex on Peter more often.

The next night, Peter attends a Rush concert with Sydney, on the condition that he bring Zooey. During the concert, she feels ignored by Peter and Sydney. The next day, while shopping for tuxedos, Sydney asks Peter why he is marrying Zooey, and also asks for an $8,000 loan. After some thought, Peter decides to lend Sydney the money, and later asks him to be his best man. Zooey, meanwhile, has become suspicious of Sydney. Peter tells Zooey that he lent Sydney money and asks her if she knows why they are getting married, since he had no answer to Sydney s question (not aware the question was supposed to stay between him and Sydney). Hurt and angry, Zooey leaves.

Peter goes to work the next morning, discovering Sydney has used the $8,000 loan to purchase several ridiculous billboard advertisements promoting Peter s real estate business (with photos of Peter he took with his iPhone). Still upset over his fight with Zooey, he confronts Sydney and ends their friendship. Peter then patches things up with Zooey, explaining that although he is nervous, he is ready to get married. As they prepare for the wedding, Sydney finds himself alone and desperate to hang with someone.

At work, Peter discovers that Sydney s billboard advertising campaign was successful. He won back the right to the lucrative Ferrigno listing and many others left messages, wanting him to sell their houses. Feeling encouraged, Peter finally stands up to his insufferable colleague, Tevin Downey, who had been badgering Peter for half the selling rights to the Ferrigno property. When Tevin makes one final attempt to get a piece of it, Peter slaps him, telling him to stay away from it.

Peter feels bad about fighting with Sydney but does not re-invite him to the wedding. Instead, he assembles an array of random groomsmen that includes Robbie, father Oswald, and Ferrigno. Before the wedding, Zooey sees Peter looking forlorn, clearly missing Sydney. She calls and invites Sydney, who is, unbeknownst to them, already en route to the wedding. Just before the vows are to be taken, Sydney makes a dramatic entrance via Vespa. He reminds Peter and Zooey that he is, in fact, a successful investor and returns the money he borrowed from Peter, announcing the billboards were their wedding present. Peter and Zooey declare their love to each other, Sydney assumes the role of best man, and the wedding continues.

As the credits roll, we see the wedding reception, where Peter and Sydney join the hired band (played by OK Go) in a rendition of the Rush song Limelight pulling Zooey on stage to join them. As the song ends, Sydney attempts to toast the newlyweds and Peter runs to frantically stop him as the screen cuts out (remembering Sydney s ill-advised toast at the engagement dinner).

Cast

• Paul Rudd as Peter Klaven
• Jason Segel as Sydney Fife
• Rashida Jones as Zooey Rice
• Andy Samberg as Robbie Klaven
• Josh Cooke as Alan, Robbie s boyfriend
• J. K. Simmons as Oswald Klaven
• Jane Curtin as Joyce Klaven
• Jaime Pressly as Denise McLean
• Jon Favreau as Barry McLean
• Sarah Burns as Hailey
• Lou Ferrigno as himself
• Rob Huebel as Tevin Downey
• Aziz Ansari as Eugene
• Nick Kroll as Larry
• Mather Zickel as Gil
• Thomas Lennon as Doug Evans
• Murray Gershenz as Mel
• Joe Lo Truglio as Lonnie
• Jay Chandrasekhar as Barry s friend
• David Krumholtz as Sydney s friend
• Carla Gallo as Zooey s friend
• Larry Wilmore as Minister
• Rush (Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart) as themselves
• OK Go as the wedding band Tastes Like Chicken

Production

The script, Let s Be Friends, was originally written by Larry Levin. It was purchased but went unused for about 11 years before the film was made. Hamburg was offered the script and kept turning it down, but after his friends moved to Los Angeles he was inspired by the experience of trying to meet more friends to give it a shot. When Hamburg finally took the script he rewrote it to make it as real as possible. The film was originally announced in December 2007, with production originally scheduled for March 2008. In March 2008, Variety revealed that producer Ivan Reitman s Montecito Picture Company officially began production on I Love You, Man during the week of March 31, 2008.

Casting

I Love You, Man is the third collaboration between Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, following the Judd Apatow projects Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, while writer/director John Hamburg previously worked with Segel on Apatow s Undeclared television series. It only took one lunch to get Segel and Rudd to sign on to do the film and this set the stage for other actors to sign on. On February 13, 2008 it was announced that Rashida Jones would be in the female lead opposite Rudd. Later, in an interview with FirstShowing.net, Jones revealed that because Segel and Rudd were already attached to the project she knew immediately that it was gonna be even funnier than I would think. At the beginning of the March 31, 2008 week, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Jaime Pressly had joined the film s cast, playing the best friend of Rashida Jones character. Hamburg comically stated that he was lucky in casting J.K. Simmons because his contract states he has to be in one out of every four movies made. Jon Favreau started working on the film the same week Iron Man came out, a film which he directed. He said he probably wouldn t have agreed to have done it had I known my life was going to be that shape , but Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. told him that It is the best thing you could do – he said chop wood, carry water, which is what they do in the Kung Fu movies to keep you humble.

Anwar Sadat

One of late President of Egypt Anwar Sadat s daughters filed a lawsuit against the filmmakers because, in the film, Sydney s dog is named after her father. He tells Peter that he thinks they look exactly alike. Samir Sabri, the lawyer in the case, asked the US embassy to apologize. Complaints have been raised by Egyptian bloggers as well. In the Arab world, dog is often used as an insult, and, in the more specific context of Islam, dogs have historically been seen as unclean.

Rush

Rush was approached by Hamburg, a fan of the band, to appear in the film. The filming schedule was tight because there was a one-day window between two of their concerts on tour. The band later said that they enjoyed the experience. Hamburg felt that once Rush got that I wasn t poking fun at them, that I m genuinely a fan and the main characters of the movie are fans and it s kind of a loving tribute to them, I think that s when they came on board. Subsequently, both Rudd and Segel appeared in character as Peter and Sydney alongside the members of Rush in a short video played at the end of concerts during the band s 2010–11 Time Machine Tour. In August 2013, Rudd reprised his character at the final show of Rush s Clockwork Angels Tour, conducting the Clockwork Angels Orchestra (a string section which accompanied the band) during the song YYZ. In 2015, on Rush s R40 Live Tour, Rudd and Segel were again featured among a number of celebrities in an accompanying rear-screen video lip-synching the rap section to the song Roll the Bones .

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 83% based on 207 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website s critical consensus states, I Love You, Man makes the most of its simple premise due to the heartfelt and hilarious performances of Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews . Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of B+ on scale of A+ to F.

Giving the film three out of four stars, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said that despite the formulaic plot, the right actors can keep it afloat, even airborne. He also praised the supporting cast. Entertainment Weekly gave the film an C−, and said that Paul Rudd gives a startlingly funny and original performance. USA Today gave the film a glowing review, stating the movie works because everything hinges on the camaraderie and undeniable chemistry between Rudd and Segel. More conservatively, People magazine said the movie sails along on goodwill and blush-worthy bawdiness, but concluded that like instant chocolate pudding, it goes down easy — even if it isn t especially good for you.

The film was not without its critics. Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor was not impressed with the film, and after noting that the character Sydney seemed to be written for Owen Wilson, Rainer remarked, Maybe Wilson was busy. Lucky him. The Colorado Daily described the relationship between the male leads as a watered-down false bromance , noting that the pace of their relationship seemed rushed , and that Peter was looking out for his wife rather than his best friend.

Box office

In its U.S. opening weekend, the film made $17.8 million in 2,711 theaters, ranking number two at the box office. I Love You, Man stayed in the box office top ten for five weeks and was number 27 among films released in 2009. The film grossed $71.4 million domestically and $20.2 million internationally making $93.4 million worldwide.

Home media

The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment on August 11, 2009 in the US and August 24, 2009 in Europe and as of November 2009 generated more than $22 million in DVD sales. I Love You, Man was ranked number two in sales during its opening week and declined from there. The DVD extras contains an hour and a half of content including a full performance of Limelight .

Awards

The film has been nominated for Best Kiss for the 2009 MTV Movie Awards for the smooch between Thomas Lennon s character Doug and Rudd s Peter, but lost to Twilight. It was also nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film – Wide Release during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards.

Soundtrack

I Love You, Man
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	March 17, 2009
Length	49:11
Label	Lakeshore Records
Producer	Theodore Shapiro

Track #	Title	Performer	Length
1	Good Times	Latch Key Kid	2:30
2	Oxford Comma	Vampire Weekend	3:15
3	Tom Sawyer	Rush	4:35
4	Set You Free	The Black Keys	2:45
5	Lights Out	Santigold	3:12
6	Soul of a Man	Beck	2:37
7	Limelight	Rush	4:20
8	Good Times Roll	The Cars	3:47
9	Campus	Vampire Weekend	2:56
10	Mr. Pitiful	Matt Costa	2:55
11	Dancing With Myself	The Donnas	3:28
12	Waterslide	The Bonedaddys	3:54
13	Limelight	Paul Rudd & Jason Segel	4:22
14	Ain t That a Kick in the Head?	Dean Martin	2:26
15	Peter and Zooey	Teddy Shapiro	2:17

Year	2009
ReleaseDate	2009-03-20
RuntimeMins	105
RuntimeStr	1h 45min
Plot	Friendless Peter Klaven goes on a series of man-dates to find a Best Man for his wedding. But, when his insta-bond with his new B.F.F. puts a strain on his relationship with his fiancée, can the trio learn to live happily ever after?
Awards	Awards, 1 win & 8 nominations
Directors	John Hamburg
Writers	John Hamburg, Larry Levin
Stars	Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones
Produced by	Anders Bard,Jeffrey Clifford,Donald De Line,Kevin Flatow,Andrew Haas,John Hamburg,Bill Johnson,Tom Pollock,Ivan Reitman
Music by	Theodore Shapiro
Cinematography by	Lawrence Sher
Film Editing by	William Kerr
Casting By	Allison Jones
Production Design by	Andrew Laws
Art Direction by	Eric Sundahl
Set Decoration by	Christopher Carlson
Costume Design by	Leesa Evans
Makeup Department	Matthew Kasten,Tracey Levy,Heather Mages,Geri B. Oppenheim,Terrie Velazquez Owen,Nathalie Allen,Deborah Holmes Dobson,Wendy Southard,Roddy Stayton,Leah Vautrot
Production Management	John Darko,Susan McNamara,Peter J. Novak,Jake Rice,Mark Graziano
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Matthew Heffernan,Scott Robertson,Jonas Spaccarotelli,Eugene Davis
Art Department	Ruben Abarca,Isaac Amondson,Perry Bachelor,P. Scott Bailey,Alan Baptiste,Daniel Boxer,Roxanne Brooks,Dan Caplan,Dale DeStefani,Mariano Fernandez,David Harris,Glenn Hoofman,Eric Kelly,Mark Larkin,Jennifer Lewicki,Anthony J. Martin,Robert S. McDonald,Michael Mikita Jr.,Jonathan Mikita,Michael Mikita,Michelle Millay,Matt Myers,James Pollack,Greg Sanger,Chad Simpson,Easton Smith,Darrell Vangilder,Clint Wallace,Frank White,Kinney Booker,Hilary DeWaay,Erin Fite,James Gambino,Thomas D. Krausz,Amy Lamendola,Ed Mirassou,Carrie Roslan
Sound Department	Andrew Adams,Robert Althoff,Sona Balam,Ron Bedrosian,Keith Bilderbeck,Julio Carmona,Richard Chycki,Steve Copley,Rich Crescenti,Barbara Delpuech,Yann Delpuech,Robert Deschaine,Mark DeSimone,Ann Ducommun,Marc Fishman,Stefan Fraticelli,Larry Hopkins,Adam Jenkins,Darren King,E. Niles Klein,Greg LaPlante,Ryan Lukasik,Magic A. Moreno,Justin Pearson,Jan Petrov,Jeena M. Phelps,Rocky Quiroz,Ken Segal,John Sievert,Tami Treadwell,Randy Wilson,Dan Yale,Mark DeSimone,Alan Freedman,Mark Kenna,Oleg Kulchytskyi,Chet Leonard,Gary Raymond,Dan Yale
Special Effects by	Michael Gaspar,Dick Wood
Visual Effects by	Patrick L. Almanza,Chris Chappell,Scott M. Davids,Michele Ferrone,Dennis Fitzsimmons,Jalal Jemison,Christopher Kutcka,Mark Larranaga,Adam Lima,Jonathan Mecenas,Ron Perez,Anita Razzano,Wilson Tang,Mike Tosti,Paul Turang,Eran Barnea,Ryan Beadle,Paulina Kuszta,Erin L. Nelson
Stunts	Alex Daniels,Brian Danner,Kevin Moran,Peewee Piemonte,Tim Weske,Jonathan Arthur,Kristopher Blount,Joe Bucaro III,Danielle Burgio,TJ Cencula,Tony Donno,Nathan Hedrick,Brandon Molale,Panuvat Anthony Nanakornpanom,Scott Roukema,Dustin Szany,Brad C. Wilcox,Daniel R. Wolfe
Camera and Electrical Department	Sean Patrick Crowell,Kelly Diehl,Suzanne Dietz,Seong Dilg,Julie Donovan,Gregory L. Edwards,Michael Enriquez,Scott Garfield,David Ghegan,Daniel C. Gold,Bryan G. Haigh,Samuel R. Harrison III,Adam Harrison,Gregory Irwin,Nate Johnson,Luke Kalteux,Michael Kelly,Dave Loden,Ross K. Marshall,W. Ted Mayer,Glenn E. Moran,Joey Moran,Jerry Patton,Brooks Robinson,Robert H. Santoro,Josh Stancil,Calvin Starnes,N. Owen Taylor Jr.,Jarred Waldron,Nate Wayman,Hootly Weedn,Mark Carlile,Alan Caudillo,Ben Dynice,Pete Escobar,Mark Evans,Nathan Dean Fetzer,Jerry Gregoricka,Douglas Kieffer,Michael Kleiman,Seth Kotok,David Newbert,Ray Patrick,Joel A. Ruiz,John Savedra,Ray Skinner
Casting Department	Leslee Feldman,Ben Harris,Laura Drake Mancini,Tammy L. Smith,Dixie Webster,Chris Bustard,Daryl Eisenberg
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Suzanne Cranfill,Trayce Gigi Field,Ariel Gold,Molly Grundman,Bradley Inaba,Julie Lauritzen,Michelle Margolis,Hayley Stuppel,Ryan Lennon,Julie Shack
Editorial Department	Gary Burritt,George Chavez,Leilani Gushiken,Nancy Jundi,Susan Mandel,John Persichetti,David Raymond,Mitch Rosin,Mark Sachen,Mark Sahagun,Michael L. Sale,Henry Santos,Dan Williams,Esther Young,Justin Bourret,Terence Curren,Marc Fisher
Location Management	Neale Fishback,Jane E. Graves,Marc Meeks,Kyle Oliver
Music Department	Bryan Carrigan,Ryan Castle,Sandy DeCrescent,Chris Fogel,Ludwig Göransson,Jennifer Hawks,Victor Indrizzo,Dave Levita,Ryan McClure,Carin Meyer,Peter Rotter,David Sardy,Joel Shearer,Richard Ziegler,Christian Almiron,Julie Butchko,The Hollywood Studio Symphony,Tony Mandracchia,Vincent A. Villanueva
Script and Continuity Department	Diane H. Newman
Transportation Department	Vic Cuccia,Gary Edelman,Stephen H. Koontz,Brian Stackhouse,Steve Brill,J. Armin Garza II,Alan Kaminsky,Melissa LaFon,William P. Lafon,Joel Larson,Bea S. Rembeczky
Additional Crew	Mike Ammerman,Sage Asteak,Toby Burge,Kristy Campbell,Mitch Carter,Gina Crane,T. Michael Daze,Mike Dazé,Lisa Dilenschneider,Jeremy Edwards,Heidi Falconer,Laura J. Fox,Estee Gabbai,Matt Gamboa,Michael Garrity,René González,John Graber,Matt Haggerty,Brenda Herrera,Andrea Hirschegger,Alex Holcomb,Emilio Hurmuziou,Lise Kearney,Kate Kelly,Robert Jay Leatham,Greg Levine,Avital Levy,Dan Lora,Rachel Layne McDonald,Michael Menzies,Angela Mock,Nicole Mumey,Brennan Reynolds,Austin Rodriguez,Shauna Sanders,Paul Santarelli,Vinny Scavo,Ni Coel Stark,Russell Steele,Hirotatsu Taniguchi,Jodi Tripi,Ronnie Vaccaro,April Wahlin,Nick Irving Allen,Samuel M. Dabbs,Ellyn Exley,Greg Ferris,Marc C. Geschwind,Tim Granlund,Mark Hochman,Richard Klein,Harley Pasternak,Adam Rucho,Jasen Salvatore,Michael Saunders,Shelly Strong,Ross Tatelman,Brad Everett Young
Genres	Comedy, Romance
Companies	Dreamworks Pictures, De Line Pictures, Bernard Gayle Productions
Countries	USA
Languages	English
ContentRating	R
ImDbRating	7
ImDbRatingVotes	206391
MetacriticRating	70
Keywords	homosexual subtext,bromance,friend,gay brother,reference to neil peart