Movie Review: On the Rocks (2020)

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Having just arrived home from the airport, Dean (Marlon Wayans) parks his suitcase in the master suite and crawls across the bed to tenderly kiss his sleeping wife Laura (Rashida Jones) awake. When her eyes flutter open and she says, “hi,” he abruptly stops. Seemingly puzzled, Dean rolls over to his side of the bed and goes right to sleep as if, Laura suddenly fears, her husband thought she was someone else.

An unsettling incident to be sure and one that makes her hyper-aware of other aspects of her relationship with the devoted father of her two young daughters, as she unpacks Dean's suitcase the next day, Laura is shocked to find a woman's toiletry bag among her husband's belongings, complete with body oil inside. Giving in to her fears about men, women, and monogamy, which were hardwired into her brain since birth as the daughter of the charismatic, larger than life, notoriously unfaithful playboy Felix (Bill Murray), Laura consults her father to get a man's perspective on these incidents and Felix immediately lowers the boom. 

“I think we should follow him.” 

Although she resists this impulse for as long as she can, once this idea has been planted, it begins to take root. And soon, Laura finds herself speeding along the streets of New York City at night in the passenger seat of her father's least inconspicuous vehicle, a cherry red Alfa Romeo convertible that backfires faster than it accelerates.

A breezily sophisticated New York comedy of the kind that we used to see so often in the 1980s, the seventh feature film from writer-director Sofia Coppola finds her embracing decidedly different stylistic terrain than we've seen before in her earlier work. Challenged by legendary screenwriter Buck Henry to write more dialogue than she normally does, “On the Rocks,” is chattier than Coppola's other movies. But in centering on an artistically minded woman struggling to find her way in a society that likes to put labels on us, it's once again a very autobiographical work right down to the fact that like Sofia Coppola, Rashida Jones' Laura is a married writer struggling to tap into her creative voice while also mothering two young girls.

Casting an actress who, as the daughter of Quincy Jones, would certainly understand what it must've been like to grow up with a charming playboy father such as Sofia Coppola's own dad, Francis Ford Coppola, "Rocks" feels very intimate, just like all of her films that immediately invite you into the world as she sees it. A terrific straight woman foil to the attention-grabbing Felix (who is sensationally brought to life by Bill Murray), Jones' Laura keeps her father in check when he flirts with literally every woman who crosses his path before launching into a monologue that leads us right back into the '70s or what Coppola calls the “martini generation.” 

Written expressly for her two leads, although she was hesitant to ever cast Murray in another feature film after the smash success of their 2003 contemporary classic “Lost in Translation” (which was later followed by the 2015 Netflix holiday special “A Very Murray Christmas” that co-starred Jones), he's the natural choice to bring Felix to life. Whether he's serenading Laura and his longtime driver with the Johnny Mercer/David Raskin classic “Laura” or belting out John Tenney and Helen Stone's “Mexicali Rose” to anyone lucky enough to be in the largely empty outdoor Mexican bar that he and Laura journey to on their freewheeling adventure to follow Dean, Coppola knows how to weaponize Murray's magnetism like no other.

Taking Laura to 21 on her birthday in one of many scenes shot in and around New York landmarks, Felix lets it slip that they're sitting at the same table that Bogart used when he proposed to Bacall in the 1940s. And, of course, while the film nerd in us is instantly impressed with this factoid, the longer we think about it, the more we realize that Bill Murray is one of those very special people that only comes around a few times in a generation that – much like Bogart – you expect our ancestors will be talking about 80 years down the line as well.

Culling comedy from everyday life, whether that's in the annoyingly self-involved single mother played by Jenny Slate who monologues at Laura daily at school drop-off and pick-up, or the awkwardness you feel when you're watching your significant other at a party hold court with lots of adoring young members of the opposite sex who look at you like you have three heads, the film builds with wry subtlety.

Eventually growing more contemplative as Project Dean calls up long-dormant feelings involving Felix's infidelity to Laura's mother, the film moves from '80s Stillman, Allen, and Ephron territory into something more akin to Ozu, Antonioni, or Rohmer by the end. Unwilling to fully follow through on the natural progression of the father and daughter's journey – which is more about their relationship than Laura's and Dean's – you get the distinct sense that there's another draft of the script lying around somewhere that took a more somber turn than “Rocks” is ready to commit to in the end.

Still, a fine, frothy film that's perfect for autumn when the weather begins to cool, the mood of the piece feels somewhere between a summer comedy and a thoughtful winter family drama. And although it doesn't quite land the same evocative punch that Coppola's last movie “The Beguiled” – which also dealt with gender roles and power plays – did, "Rocks" is much more substantial than I expected it would be going in. 

Likewise, just as Coppola's first three efforts “The Virgin Suicides,” “Lost in Translation,” and “Marie Antoinette” form their own thematic trilogy, “On the Rocks” is a film that would play even more intriguingly in a double feature with Coppola's 2010 drama “Somewhere,” which focused on a young girl trying to connect with her bored, famous, narcissistic father at the Chateau Marmont. A pleasant, mature, and relatable comedy that's much more fun than playing amateur relationship detective with your dad, Coppola's latest film feels like the down-to-earth flipside to "Somewhere"'s airy, yet hypnotizing coin. As distinctly, classically Sofia Coppola as it is quintessentially Bill Murray, "On the Rocks" is one to see.

Note: I viewed a screener of this film – which opens in theaters this weekend – safely from my home. While it's ultimately up to the viewer to decide how they wish to see the movie, I urge you to consider your safety while doing so, as “On The Rocks” will soon be available to all from the comfort of your own home on Apple TV+, starting on Friday, October 23.

Text ©2020, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. https://www.filmintuition.com  Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  Also, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made off my site through ad links. FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy or screener link of this title to voluntarily decide to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique. Cookies Notice: This site incorporates tools (including advertiser partners and widgets) that use cookies and may collect some personal information to display ads tailored to you etc. Please be advised that neither Film Intuition nor its site owner has any access to this data beyond general site statistics (geographical region etc.) as your privacy is our main concern.

Blu-ray Review: I Love You, Man (2009)

Now Available on DVD & Blu-ray



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I. Introduction & Blu-ray Critique

"I'm a heterosexual man through and through but that guy is dreamy," Forgetting Sarah Marshall actor Jason Segel shares in the HD featurette "The Making of I Love You, Man" included in this Blu-ray release.

Continuing his praise for Paul Rudd whom Segel describes as "the coolest guy ever" throughout the many special features included on the disc, we soon discover that the title couldn't be more fitting. And sure enough Parks and Recreation and The Office actress Rashida Jones cofirms the mutual male appreciation love-fest when she admits that although she's known both actors for years, when it came time to work on Man, it was obvious that the men in the "bromantic comedy" were particularly "obsessed with each other."

From clinging to each other a little too closely and far too often in hugs that Rudd jokes "Jason added a thin shade of creepiness" to by cooing audibly into Rudd's ear or fake making out with one another in outtakes-- the kick the two actors got out of each other is not only the constant source of humor of the Special Features section of the Blu-ray but no doubt the ultimate reason the movie worked so well from start to finish.

In a majority of pre-wedding comedies, the chemistry directors and actors are most concerned with getting right is between the bride and groom but this is a true, relatable "bromance" that's ideally cast, genuinely acted, and played with a refreshing level of sweetness and sincerity.

Likewise, admirably the intelligent fare from co-writer and director John Hamburg was so strong that it gave free reign for others (aside from the leads) to get their fair share of laughs as well.

While it's apparent in the film, it's fun to see the rest of the cast relish in more improvisation and extended/deleted scenes that let the supporting cast shine and in Man, it was most notably displayed by the other comedic duos who steal their scenes like J.K. Simmons and Andy Samberg as the tight-knit father and brother of Rudd respectively and Jamie Pressley and Jon Favreau as Rashida Jones' bickering married friends.

In one of the greatest scenes left on the cutting room floor, we find Rudd, Simmons, and Samberg cutting loose at their local gay men's bowling league night. While Simmons engages in a "the roof is on fire" cheer with the bowlers, Samberg knowingly warns Rudd about "friend sluts" like Lance Armstrong who is featured in US Weekly with a revolving door of male friends including Matthew McConaughey and Jake Gyllenhaal in advising him not to invest too much in his man crush on Segel's character.

Likewise, the disc offers endless highlights cut together for various actors, characters, and situations as we can watch Rudd deliver his chracter's uniquely nonsensical "stupid phraseology" as Rudd dubbed it and Pressley and Favreau continuously one up each other in the insult department to hilarious and rather NC-17 rated effect.

Including feature commentary by Hamburg, Rudd and Segel, the red band trailer and more-- the picture quality of the DreamWorks release is on par with the level from the movie theatre although once again unfortunately, Paramount's Achilles Heel comes into play with an uneven sound balance that has you adjusting your remote throughout as I found myself trying to find the right number for both the dialogue and the music, moving from 50-70 on a Sony Bravia television with terrific speakers.

Still, annoying sound flaws aside-- one of the year's funniest films is a highly recommended addition to your collection and proof that we may have found another Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn or Chris Farley and David Spade with the bromantic flirtation of Paul Rudd and Jason Segel.

II. Original Theatrical Review

Published March 20, 2009

It seems to have been a natural transition. In the late '90s and early '00s, we were presented with the "Frat Pack" comedies starring Will Ferrell, Owen and Luke Wilson, Ben Stiller, and Vince Vaughn. After that boat sailed, they evolved into the box office blockbuster Apatow comedy machine producing first rate works that blended raunch and sweetness while adding actors like Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, and Seth Rogen into the mix.

Yet, despite these changes-- all in all, they've continuously centered on the same SNL buddy comedy feature film paradigm about men who are kids at heart, trying to understand how to reconcile their adult responsibilities with their natural urge to cut loose.

Whether we're watching Steve Carell attempt to lose his virginity at the age of forty, or Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly fighting over a drum set in Step Brothers, or Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott being forced to mold young minds in Role Models-- audiences by now are so used to the same "bromances" that despite their hilarity, it's about time we were presented with something new and different.

I'd use the phrase "breath of fresh air," but the air in these films is never quite fresh and instead smells of the most startling mixture of bodily humor and foul-mouthed yet decidedly hilarious dialogue that sometimes comes from the most surprising of sources like Ed Begley Jr. in Pineapple Express, Mary Steenburgen in Step Brothers, and Jane Lynch in Role Models.

However, the way that I Love You, Man sets itself apart from the lot is by presenting us with Paul Rudd as a typical run-of-the-mill thirty-something square who doesn't sit around thinking of get rich quick schemes involving nudity or adult entertainment (Rogen in Knocked Up and Zack and Miri...) but instead spends most of his time relishing in his comfortable metrosexual lifestyle with his fiance Zooey (The Office's Rashida Jones).

Unlike the characters in the other films that indeed have a posse of men like Ron Burgundy's "gang" in the newsroom of Anchorman (also featuring Rudd)-- Rudd's I Love You, Man character Peter is so forgettable that Jon Favreau as the husband of Zooey's best friend played by My Name is Earl's Jamie Pressly can't recall meeting him although they've been out as a foursome roughly twenty times.

When Peter and Zooey get engaged at the start of the movie in a yuppie proposal consisting of his plans for real estate development involving condos and small businesses--- it only takes a few minutes before she's calling those closest to her before ultimately realizing that Peter has nobody to inform of the news.

Described as more of a "girlfriend guy," and without any close male friends, Peter is the anti-Frat Pack character who loves to spend evenings in watching Chocolat with Johnny Depp alongside Zooey and taking part in an evening fencing group but when alarm bells sound in the form of Zooey's girlfriends who state that a guy without friends may prove to be extraordinarily clingy, Rudd's Peter sets out to tackle the problem head on.

He does so in a series of "man-dates," which are generated by his gay brother (Hot Rod's Andy Samberg) who refreshingly is far more comfortable around straight men than Rudd's nervous, chatty, girl's guy Peter. While his brother's man-date goes poorly, the predictable happens to still surprising understated effect during a predictable mixed-signals cozy dinner arranged by his mother (Jane Curtin) which takes the "date" part of "man-date" far too literally.

Suddenly, the seemingly effortless, cool, comfortable-in-their-own-skin, man's man characters who talk nonstop about sex in the land of Judd Apatow and Kevin Smith temporarily disappear as the otherwise Average Joe reverts back to the angst of being a teen worried about being picked last for dodgeball (incidentally the title of another Frat Pack comedy).

Just how does someone past college age make friends nowadays anyway? It's rough going to say the least with most relationships being generated through work, school, or community activities but once we pass a certain age-- as Rudd's character accurately states-- there's no rules anymore. While in Patrice Leconte's bittersweet yet funny and similar tale My Best Friend we get an equally awkward yet more subtle approach to the same problem, in co-writer and director John Hamurg's I Love You, Man laughter is the name of the game.

Hamburg, who frequently collaborated with modern comedy's king of the uncomfortable silence, bad first impression, and bombed jokes-- Mr. Ben Stiller himself-- as the lovable outsider in Along Came Polly, Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers, and Zoolander turns this same basic comedic principle to witty gold in the script co-written by Larry Levin based on Levin's original idea then titled "Let's Make Friends."

The always underrated Rudd who never fails to charm whether he's playing slyly seductive and brainy in Clueless, charismatic and irresistible in I Can Never Be Your Woman, or heartbreakingly open in The Shape of Things springboards off his great scene stealing supporting work in ensemble pieces like Anchorman. And coming off the heels of the surprisingly intelligent Role Models--which he helped write-- he comes into his own in his best comedic performance yet.

And in the film, Hamburg makes the best possible decision to couple him with Forgetting Sarah Marshall's Jason Segel as the laid-back Frat Pack slacker dude from who takes everything in stride. Just when Peter had resigned himself to a life minus male companionship, he strikes an unlikely bond with his polar opposite as Peter meets Segel's Sidney when he crashes an open house for the chance to score free food and cruise recently divorced women.

In truly juvenile fashion, they hit it off over a shared observation regarding bodily humor but from their first scene in the film together-- that builds off the chemistry established in their previous collaborations-- everything that follows is unexpectedly natural, clumsy, endearing, hilarious, messy and very real.

Soon Sidney lets Peter inside his "man cave" a.k.a. "Temple of Doom" (essentially an adult version of a clubhouse) and gives him the opportunity to verbalize things about his relationship he never has admitted before and Peter's happiness in an adult, supportive relationship begins to inspire the under-achieving, commitment phobic Sidney.

Of course, along the way, due to Peter's instant "man-crush" and incessant time hanging out with Sidney in the type of typical adolescence we get the sense he never fully had experienced before, his relationship with Zooey begins to suffer. And soon he needs to strike a balance between both of his loves in this unlikely rom-com that celebrates both romantic and platonic relationships in an original way.

Much like Peter needs to realize how to make time for everyone and strike the right chord of grown-up time and playtime, the film successfully moves the aforementioned comedies in precisely the right direction by walking a nice line between immature gross-out gags and humor that's more mature and character based such as in the film's most consistently funny scenes as Peter tries to come up with overly casual sounding slang in feeble attempts to seem cool and natural.

A much needed cinematic laugh break in a time when we definitely need it and one that you can actually respect yourself for liking in the morning, I Love You, Man manages to tap into ideas in which everyone can relate (as we all feel an instant kinship with Peter on some small level in an increasingly impersonal and unfriendly world).

Yet, at the same time, director Hamburg presents it as a feel-great, laugh yourself stupid comedy that doesn't lose momentum as the overly long Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Pineapple Express did by ensuring that every scene continually pushes the plot-line forward. And this he does in hilarious and dare I say more sophisticated--yet still not too sophisticated as to lose its main demographic-- effect in the sunniest comedy of the year so far.

Text ©2009, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com
Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited.

Movie Review: I Love You, Man (2009)

Now Available on DVD & Blu-ray



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View the Trailer

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It seems to have been a natural transition. In the late '90s and early '00s, we were presented with the "Frat Pack" comedies starring Will Ferrell, Owen and Luke Wilson, Ben Stiller, and Vince Vaughn. After that boat sailed, they evolved into the box office blockbuster Apatow comedy machine producing first rate works that blended raunch and sweetness while adding actors like Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, and Seth Rogen into the mix.

Yet, despite these changes-- all in all, they've continuously centered on the same SNL buddy comedy feature film paradigm about men who are kids at heart, trying to understand how to reconcile their adult responsibilities with their natural urge to cut loose.

Whether we're watching Steve Carell attempt to lose his virginity at the age of forty, or Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly fighting over a drum set in Step Brothers, or Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott being forced to mold young minds in Role Models-- audiences by now are so used to the same "bromances" that despite their hilarity, it's about time we were presented with something new and different.

I'd use the phrase "breath of fresh air," but the air in these films is never quite fresh and instead smells of the most startling mixture of bodily humor and foul-mouthed yet decidedly hilarious dialogue that sometimes comes from the most surprising of sources like Ed Begley Jr. in Pineapple Express, Mary Steenburgen in Step Brothers, and Jane Lynch in Role Models.

However, the way that I Love You, Man sets itself apart from the lot is by presenting us with Paul Rudd as a typical run-of-the-mill thirty-something square who doesn't sit around thinking of get rich quick schemes involving nudity or adult entertainment (Rogen in Knocked Up and Zack and Miri...) but instead spends most of his time relishing in his comfortable metrosexual lifestyle with his fiance Zooey (The Office's Rashida Jones).

Unlike the characters in the other films that indeed have a posse of men like Ron Burgundy's "gang" in the newsroom of Anchorman (also featuring Rudd)-- Rudd's I Love You, Man character Peter is so forgettable that the husband of Zooey's best friend played by My Name is Earl's Jamie Pressly can't recall meeting him although they've been out as a foursome roughly twenty times.

When Peter and Zooey get engaged at the start of the movie in a yuppie proposal consisting of his plans for real estate development involving condos and small businesses--- it only takes a few minutes before she's calling those closest to her before ultimately realizing that Peter has nobody to inform of the news.

Described as more of a "girlfriend guy," and without any close male friends, Peter is the anti-Frat Pack character who loves to spend evenings in watching Chocolat with Johnny Depp alongside Zooey and taking part in an evening fencing group but when alarm bells sound in the form of Zooey's girlfriends who state that a guy without friends may prove to be extraordinarily clingy, Rudd's Peter sets out to tackle the problem head on.

He does so in a series of "man-dates," which are generated by his gay brother (Hot Rod's Andy Samberg) who refreshingly is far more comfortable around straight men than Rudd's nervous, chatty, girl's guy Peter. While his brother's man-date goes poorly, the predictable happens to still surprising understated effect during a predictable mixed-signals cozy dinner arranged by his mother (Jane Curtin) which takes the "date" part of "man-date" far too literally.

Suddenly, the seemingly effortless, cool, comfortable-in-their-own-skin, man's man characters who talk nonstop about sex in the land of Judd Apatow and Kevin Smith temporarily disappear as the otherwise Average Joe reverts back to the angst of being a teen worried about being picked last for dodgeball (incidentally the title of another Frat Pack comedy).

Just how does someone past college age make friends nowadays anyway? It's rough going to say the least with most relationships being generated through work, school, or community activities but once we pass a certain age-- as Rudd's character accurately states-- there's no rules anymore. While in Patrice Leconte's bittersweet yet funny and similar tale My Best Friend we get an equally awkward yet more subtle approach to the same problem, in co-writer and director John Hamurg's I Love You, Man laughter is the name of the game.

Hamburg, who frequently collaborated with modern comedy's king of the uncomfortable silence, bad first impression, and bombed jokes-- Mr. Ben Stiller himself-- as the lovable outsider in Along Came Polly, Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers, and Zoolander turns this same basic comedic principle to witty gold in the script co-written by Larry Levin based on Levin's original idea then titled "Let's Make Friends."

The always underrated Rudd who never fails to charm whether he's playing slyly seductive and brainy in Clueless, charismatic and irresistible in I Can Never Be Your Woman, or heartbreakingly open in The Shape of Things springboards off his great scene stealing supporting work in ensemble pieces like Anchorman. And coming off the heels of the surprisingly intelligent Role Models--which he helped write-- he comes into his own in his best comedic performance yet.

And in the film, Hamburg makes the best possible decision to couple him with Forgetting Sarah Marshall's Jason Segel as the laid-back Frat Pack slacker dude from who takes everything in stride. Just when Peter had resigned himself to a life minus male companionship, he strikes an unlikely bond with his polar opposite as Peter meets Segel's Sidney when he crashes an open house for the chance to score free food and cruise recently divorced women.

In truly juvenile fashion, they hit it off over a shared observation regarding bodily humor but from their first scene in the film together-- that builds off the chemistry established in their previous collaborations-- everything that follows is unexpectedly natural, clumsy, endearing, hilarious, messy and very real.

Soon Sidney lets Peter inside his "man cave" a.k.a. "Temple of Doom" (essentially an adult version of a clubhouse) and gives him the opportunity to verbalize things about his relationship he never has admitted before and Peter's happiness in an adult, supportive relationship begins to inspire the under-achieving, commitment phobic Sidney.

Of course, along the way, due to Peter's instant "man-crush" and incessant time hanging out with Sidney in the type of typical adolescence we get the sense he never fully had experienced before, his relationship with Zooey begins to suffer. And soon he needs to strike a balance between both of his loves in this unlikely rom-com that celebrates both romantic and platonic relationships in an original way.

Much like Peter needs to realize how to make time for everyone and strike the right chord of grown-up time and playtime, the film successfully moves the aforementioned comedies in precisely the right direction by walking a nice line between immature gross-out gags and humor that's more mature and character based such as in the film's most consistently funny scenes as Peter tries to come up with overly casual sounding slang in feeble attempts to seem cool and natural.

A much needed cinematic laugh break in a time when we definitely need it and one that you can actually respect yourself for liking in the morning, I Love You, Man manages to tap into ideas in which everyone can relate (as we all feel an instant kinship with Peter on some small level in an increasingly impersonal and unfriendly world).

Yet, at the same time, director Hamburg presents it as a feel-great, laugh yourself stupid comedy that doesn't lose momentum as the overly long Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Pineapple Express did by ensuring that every scene continually pushes the plot-line forward. And this he does in hilarious and dare I say more sophisticated--yet still not too sophisticated as to lose its main demographic-- effect in the sunniest comedy of the year so far.