The Five-Year Engagement Review

It was released in cinemas on 22nd June, but it feels as if I have been waiting a lifetime to see The Five Year Engagement starring Emily Blunt and Jason Segel. 

In my opinion, the likelihood of the film being exceptional is when the trailer has you in stitches, and the trailer for this was definitely one of those.


The trailer presented us with a slapstick version of a film we know all to well, boy meets girl and they fall in love, blah, blah, blah. But this film really does flip that notion on its head, and stomp on it. Not only does the film begin rather than end with a proposal, it successfully represents a realistic, down-to-earth couple who have to cope with the obstacles that we all encounter on a day to day basis.

Tom (Segel) and Violet (Blunt) are the perfect couple, right for each other in every way. On New Years Eve, exactly a year after they met, Tom proposes, and the couple are set for a fairytale ending. However, when jobs and academia start getting in the way, things start to go downhill and the couple end up having to decide if they really are as suited as they thought.

My concern, though, was that the three-minute trailer may have given away ever funny moment the film has to offer. This was not the case. The rom-com showcased a beautiful array of laugh-out-loud funny scenes that really did make it a film to remember.

Having been a fan of Jason Segel in previous comedies such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and I Love You, Man, I was expecting the usual from him. When talking about Mr Segel, I refer to him as 'The Katherine Heigl type' as no matter what film they star in, they always manage to get away with playing the exact same character. This film was no exception. He remained the same character that he played in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but this time, he was a little less um..... naked. This doesn't mean that the mono-character he plays is a bad one, however, as his acting remained the same, if not better than ever before, as we saw him in a serious relationship with Emily Blunt who was a breath of fresh air, as always.

When a film poster presents us with "From the Producer of..." I don't know about you but unless it says something really fantastic, I usually don't even bat an eyelid. So when I saw Bridesmaids in bold pink letters, I was on YouTube, immediately searching for the trailer. I don't usually fall for this kind of subliminal 'see this film' messaging, but when I see the word Bridesmaids, my eyes light up. Of course, by putting that word there, they need to somewhat fulfill their promise, by offering us a jaw-aching comedy - and boy, they did just that.

While I wouldn't say it was neither as good nor funny as Bridesmaids or film of the year (in my eyes) Friends with Benefits, Five Year Engagement did offer us exactly what it said on the packaging, and more.

Consistently funny, sometimes crazy and never boring, this film is definitely worth a watch, or two...

8/10