Duplicity, I love you Man

These are both genre films (caper for Duplicity, and romantic comedy for I Love You Man) that hue closely to their conventions. In a caper film you expect there to be a labyrinthine plot, exotic locations, action, misdirection, and a scene at the end that shows how everything comes together. With a romantic comedy you expect an unlikely relationship, comedic pratfalls, some (usually manufactured) conflict, before an audience friendly resolution. Since neither of these films really looked to reinvent the wheel, what ultimately matters is how well the formulas are executed and how much you like the characters. In the case of Duplicity the execution, and overall style, is really what drives the enjoyment of the film. The plot about two former intelligence agents, played by Clive Owen and Julia Roberts, who are involved in trying to steal secrets from a Johnson & Johnson-esqe corporation sticks pretty closely to what you'd expect from this type of film, and is suitably ludicrous that you don't get bogged down trying to figure out if any of what is happening could actually occur in real life. The vibe of the film most reminded me of Ocean's 11 in that everybody involved seemed to be enjoying going through machinations of the story, and with one glaring exception (a scene towards the end where they make the mistake of trying to get serious) I had a dumb grin on my face throughout the film (this may or may not have had anything to do with the copious amount of glue I had been been sniffing).

I Love You Man, on the other hand, lives and dies by the likeability of the two leads, played Paul Rudd and Jason Segal. The actors have an easy chemistry and affability that makes what is actually a pretty thin plot easy to digest. The film does grind to halt by the forced ending, but up to that point the two main characters manage you keep you relatively engaged and amused. Plus the fact that the band is Rush is prominently featured added a little something extra for me as there was a time in my life, when I wasn't the stone cold arbiter of all that is cool you know and love today, where this Canadian prog rock trio, who often wrote songs based on the works of Ayn Rand, was a large part of my life. And you know what? They still kind of rock even if I'm a little embarressed to say it.

So there you have it, two relatively innovesive films that don't reinvent the wheel but are a reasonable entertaining way to spend a couple of hours. I know, my hyperbole is overwhelming.