Man Up ***

The thought of Simon Pegg as a leading man in a romcom might make you hesitate before parting with cash at the box office, especially after the lacklustre Hector and the Search for Happiness. But you have to hand it to him – what with Kill Me Three Times, he’s certainly trying his hand at various the genres, so why make an exception with romcoms?

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To be honest, his leading lady, Lake Bell, makes a formidable, comedic partner-in-crime in this, matching Pegg’s usual heart-on-sleeve repertoire and often stealing his thunder.  Man Up refers to what both of their characters should be doing in this very modern-day London ‘romance’ tinged with cynicism and knowing experiences of ‘life after 30 in relationships’. However, it does descend into something resembling a less-padded Love Actually in the end.

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Bell plays Nancy, a thirtysomething Brit – with a flawless accent for an American – who has been less than successful in love. After another awkward ‘set-up’ at an engagement party, Nancy is on her way to her parents’ wedding anniversary party. She meets a girl on a train with a self-help book on Love. Deliberately leaving the book behind – with some much needed tips, Nancy races off the train after her, knowing she’ll be waiting under the clock in Waterloo station, armed with said book so her blind date can recognise her. Instead, Jack (Pegg) mistakes Nancy for his blind date, and she just runs with it, having promised herself she’ll become more adventurous in life. What transpires are deceit, brutal honesty, fun and budding romance.

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Man Up has some great, knowing moments and a script that allows Pegg and Lake to rift sublimely off each other – even if the latter gets the best lines. Theirs is played out more like a platonic relationship that’s got possibilities. Things do get a little rom-com gushy towards the end as the Love Actually factor kicks in, resulting in predictability, but not necessarily spelling old-fashioned ‘romance’ (cue end reconciliation). It’s the fun had getting to this point that is the film’s forte and when it does get too sincere or sentimental, that’s when it veers off mark.

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Pegg demonstrates he can do homegrown romcoms in a quirky sense, but only if his character is as self-depreciating as the female role traditionally is. Man Up may have its feminist ‘wobbles’ in parts – like the typical embittered ex-wife character (played by Olivia Williams) and Nancy’s vulnerable moments – but it is surprisingly contemporary, fresh and punchy in delivery. More so, we grow fond of Lake very early on that helps matters greatly.

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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