I Love You, Man

Impressions before seeing it
Given the cast (which I like) and the trailers, I thought I Love You, Man was a Judd Apatow movie, but it turns out he had nothing to do with it. That's fine, I would have been interested either way.

How was it?
There is a certain honesty to this movie. Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) is one of very few heterosexual male movie characters to have no male friends. And as he tries repeatedly to make some in time for his wedding, it just gets awkward and weird because Peter is not a man's man. Like romance, a friendship cannot be forced; it must happen organically, because trying too hard to make somebody like you is not a quality that anyone appreciates. Which is why Peter's friendship with Sydney (Jason Segel) works. He wasn't set up with him and he wasn't trying to get his attention, they just bumped into each other and hit it off.

I suppose the success of this movie depends on whether the friendship between these two characters appeals to you. Personally I enjoyed watching them hang out, and I know most people can identify with the dilemma of balancing relationships so that your loved ones are satisfied with the amount of time you spend with them. There are plenty of laughs as well, and a lot of familiar comedic actors showing up. Not too shabby.

Recommendation
It does kind of have a standard "chick flick" formula, but it's entertaining, funny, and honest, so I hardly noticed until after the fact. But it probably would have been a tad better if Judd Apatow had produced it.