This is a highly disappointing film . You don't root for any of the characters as none of them are that likeable. I also don't understand why they got married in the first place either. I would give it a miss !
As rom coms go this was ok, I didn't think it was excellent!
There was some funny moments in but I'm glad I didn't go to see this at the cinema.
Whilst this British adult romcom is occasionally a little clichéd and there's at least one over-the-top scene that could have been removed this is a very, very funny British comedy of manners. I laughed out loud more or less throughout even when I saw the joke coming and when cringing was necessary. The trajectory of the narrative is way too predictable but this doesn't lessen the sheer fun of the whole thing. Rafe Spall and Rose Byrne are the couple who, after a whirlwind romance, get married much to the surprise of friends and family who don't think the marriage will last and after nine months the cracks are beginning to show! What follows is all a little predictable but with a great cast including Simon Baker, Anna Faris, Stephen Merchant as the best friend (an obnoxious spin on the dopey aristocrat played by James Fleet in 1994's Four Weddings & A Funeral), Minnie Driver (hilariously brilliant), Jason Flemyng and Olivia Colman (so funny here) this just works. If you want a good laugh then this will do the trick.
A film that is supposed to be the reality check to all those and they lived happily ever after rom-coms I Give it a Year follows Nat and Josh, played by Rose Byrne (X-Men: First Class) and Rafe Spall (Life of Pi) respectively, as they stumble through their first year of marriage following a whirlwind romance and the realization that they might not be right for each other.
With writing and direction from Ali G writer Dan Mazer this film ought to have been a quirky but charming antidote to all those American rom-coms. Over direction, poor scripting and obvious humour cause the film to fall flat however, making I Give it a Year a pale shadow of the successful British indie-comedy it could have been.
Looking at the ingredients individually; a great cast (including Simon Baker, Minnie Driver and Anna Faris), off-beat humour and an original storyline, there is plenty in this film to make it enjoyable. And in the end it isn’t entirely hateful, it is simply disappointing. Incidents including a slide-show where pornographic pictures are shown to the embarrassment of parents and rather lame school-yard style penis jokes populate the film and distract from moments of genuinely awkward comedy gold like the romantic dinner scene, complete with violinist, champagne and white doves – one of which defecates on Rose’s beautiful outfit – whilst Mazer’s obvious direction and the over zealous performances (another fault of Mazer’s over direction) steal all the charm out of the film.
Although I couldn’t say I outright hated this film I am somewhat loathe to recommend it, with a handful of other unusual British romantic comedies out in the last eighteen months I’d suggest that fans of the genre simply give this one a miss.