I Love You, Man: If The Tables Were Turned

By Jill

I Love You, Man was funny (duh).  It made me laugh till I peed a little and also reaffirmed my love for Jason Segel. Any man who can make fun of man Uggs but still pull them off gets bumped up on my list. For real. (P.S. Jason, I’m a NJG (Nice Jewish Girl); call me. My mom makes a mean matzo ball soup. True story.)

But anyways, I digress. More than Paul Rudd’s perfect delivery of awkwardness, my major crush on Jason Segel, and the screenplay stealing words right out own personal daily vernacular (hellllllo, I’ve been saying Totes Magotes since I came out of the womb… not that I am proud of it), there was actually something thought provoking about this movie (and, no, I’m not talking about the genius that was the random made up words… Jobin? Hilarious).

What I realized was that this movie would NEVER fly if the tables were turned.

Why is it that a man can be a ‘girlfriend’ guy without ANY friends of his own and not only is it so acceptable that  we can turn it into a movie that makes you pee in your pants, but also leaves women everywhere thinking, “Aw, how cute, I wish I had a fiancé JUST like Paul Rudd”? Fact is, if it was about some chick who just always happened to be a ‘boyfriend’ girl with no girlfriends or a maid of honor, guys would say she’s batsh*t insane and girls wouldn’t feel sorry for her. We would go around saying she pushed us all away and alienated herself  by being so clingy with her boyfriend that she even chose to see the SATC movie with him over us. Ruuude.

We’ve talked about it right here on this very site:
Single Girl has tons of friends.
Girl gets boyfriend.
Girl and boyfriend spend every minute together, start dressing alike and talking to each other in puppy love speak (vomit).
Boy learn what Manolo’s are.
Girl no longer has any friends.
Girl gets engaged and no one feels sorry that she has no friends left.

So why is it with a dude it all of a sudden becomes a perfect topic for funnyman fodder?  I’ve seen the real man version of Paul Rudd’s character and it really isn’t that funny or sweet; it’s actually sort of pathetic. But in this case I’m supposed to root for him and feel sorry for him and believe that he can make a guy best friend in like 2 hours who thinks he is a super cool at not at all awkward dude? Come on.

Don’t get me wrong – I peed my pants and aw’ed my way through this entire movie (and really, really fell in love with Mr. Segel-Ugg-man) but I did sorta feel like a hypocrite while I did so.

If this movie was about your ex-best friend, who is now your ex-BFF because she gave up her weekly mani-pedi session with you to cuddle with her boy, you wouldn’t be lining up to see the flick and readily quoting one-liners from it on your Facebook status as we speak. You’d be talking sh*t about her to your other friends and venting to anyone who will listen that you would never ditch your friends for a dude.

You know I’m right.
Totes magotes.