Director: Ben Palmer
Starring: Ophelia Lovibond, Simon Pegg, Lake Bell, Olivia Williams, Ken Stott, Rory Kinnear
Rating: 15
Running time: 86 mins
Release: DVD, Blu-Ray & VOD from September 28th
Quite often in the world of movies, a completely unexpected film comes along that takes everyone by surprise with its originality and entertainment value. Ben Palmer’s MAN UP is certainly one of those things in this endearing and extremely likeable romantic comedy, starring Simon Pegg and Lake Bell.
The film tells the story of Nancy (Bell) who plays a woman in her thirties who has been unlucky in love and has resigned herself to a life of junk food, tequila, cats and loneliness. It may sound a bit Bridge Jones-y, but it really isn’t, although her character is just as likeable as Renee Zellweger‘s Jones.
On the way to her parents’ 40th wedding anniversary, however, she is mistakenly identified as the blind date who Jack (Pegg) has been waiting for at Waterloo station – a very interesting meet cute. Nancy goes along with it – her New Year’s resolution was to “take more chances” – and the two of them wind up having a ball together.
Of course, their swift new encounter comes with problems as she is forced to reveal that she is not the person he was suppose to meet and Jack is not too pleased with her dishonesty.
The plot of the film may sound predictable and in some aspects it is, as we root for the heroine of the film to get her man and live happily ever after, however, the scripting is excellent. It has the typical British sarcasm one could expect from a rom-com and Pegg and Bell simple sizzle on the screen together with their witty one-liners, sarcastic ripostes and their flirtatious innuendos.
Pegg is superb in his role as Jack and makes his character, who sounds at times as though he is going through a bit of a mid-life crisis after his divorce rather likeable. Bell, an American actress, pulls off an English accent convincingly and Nancy is such a down-to-earth character, it is not hard to root for her in her conquest for love. She is hilarious as a bit of a slob, who refuses to attend engagements parties and such celebrations, but take her on a date and she transformed herself into a shot-drinking, smart and comical woman who has a thing for Jack and his man-bag that he always carries around with him.
Rory Kinnear steals the scenes when he is on screen, as the unhinged schoolfriend of Nancy, who has delved an almost stalker-ish relationship with her. He has the power to give the game away at the bowling alley where he works and reveal her true identity, but one of the funniest highlights is when he strips down to his boxer shorts in a bowling alley.
There are sentimental moments between the comedy, as the duo bond over their failed relationships and ambitions in life, making the script feel realistic as well as entertaining.
This is about as unchallenging as cinema gets but it boasts a series of strong performances, a zinging script and the best fake orgasm scene since Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally. It’s all com and virtually no rom – which might just make it the perfect romcom.
The added extras on the DVD and Blu-ray releases of the film provide even more comedy with the blooper reel, as we see outtakes of the film that were not included in the feature. Bell and Pegg also discuss the film in their interviews and provide a detailed outlook on their characters and time spent working on the film.
Overall, MAN-UP boasts the right amount of comedy in a film about love, which is strengthened by Lake Bell and Simon Pegg who sizzle in this perfectly British love story.
Verdict
MAN UP is available on DVD, Blu-Ray & VOD from September 28th
