By Thomas Willett
I know this sounds daft, but the Five-Year Engagement has been high on my list ever since I saw the trailer. Once Jason Segel hit that fire hydrant hidden under a mound of snow, I knew this would be great. There was some of the typical slapstick seen, but I personally believe that Segel is a romantic comedy genius. My opinions of him may not be reflective when I badmouth I Love You Man (It’s a funny movie which established unfortunate bromantic clichés), but as I get ready for his latest release, I realize that I undermine my appreciation of him. He may actually be my favorite current romantic movie lead.
Before you complain, I am not planning on writing defensive pieces about every person Judd Apatow has worked with. However, if Jay Baruchel gets any flack, I will be back to tell you why he’s awesome.
When compiling my thoughts for this entry, I decided to revisit a bunch of Jason Segel moments on Youtube. I ran through clips from Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, and his numerous movies, notably his breakout role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. What I came away with was some admiration not too distant from when I wrote my Seth Rogen piece. I analyzed the clips closely to see why it was I was so attracted to a guy who essentially just plays pathetic weirdos with emotional problems. Then upon revisiting the Undeclared episode “Eric Visits Again,” it made perfect sense.
The premise of the episode revolved around Eric (Segel) going to Steven’s (Baruchel) college to beat him up for sleeping with his girlfriend. It wasn’t that Eric was a clingy loser, but that there was some source of innocent vulnerability behind it. Even as he was getting ready to beat up Steven while singing Mystikal’s “Danger,” it works as comedy gold. The amount of hope and belief that he can be something more contributes to just how pathetic the character is. This is the Segel archetype during the angry young man phase. Everything after just seems like a maturing improvement. In a sense, it’s the neurotic Woody Allen character through the decades. It’s only time before we expect Segel to become metaphysical.
But one cannot get by on stock characters alone. The reason that I believe that he is the most independently successful of the original Freaks and Geeks show is because he did more with his career. The Apatow banner implies lazy man child. Segel was just that, but more ambitious than Rogen ever was. I think that technically James Franco is the most productive of the bunch, but he’s too abstract to hit general audiences every time. Segel struck that balance over time. It took longer for people to recognize him, but that was because he pretty much had to break away from playing those awkward losers in junk such as Slackers. His persona needed to be fine-tuned for the big screen so that by the time his small role in Knocked Up came along it was only a teaser for the following year’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
With that film, he immediately skyrocketed ahead of Rogen, and on par with Franco. Besides co-writing the movie with director Nicolas Stoller, he pretty much proved that romantic comedies could have merit. It wasn’t just that he was playing a vulnerable guy who strutted around naked. It was that the character had something to prove, and the story eventually evolved to be about Segel’s love for puppets and writing music. This was a man with a plan.
And his life evolved from there. When it was announced that he would be doing the Muppets, I was kind of excited. Forgetting Sarah Marshall was such a success that I would be fine with him writing another movie about puppets. While I didn’t think the overall film was worthwhile, the passion was clearly there. The problem was that Segel was also there, and he played his stock type very well in a distracting manner. I applaud him for bringing the beloved franchise back to life (though without Frank Oz) and choosing not to do the sequel. Of all the passion projects to come down the tube, this may have failed, but it is one that I am glad has happened.
These are the general reasons that I like the guy. He manages to be a likable loser and still make you laugh at his pain. He isn’t nearly as crass as his Freaks and Geeks counterparts, but he also has twice as much heart. There is passion dripping from everything that he does. He doesn’t get by on gimmicks and instead establishes character traits. Even in bad movies like Bad Teacher, I find reason to root for him. When it comes to his bread and butter, which are romantic comedies, this is easily a leg up. He knows how to play the field without churning out something generic. It also helps that he surrounds himself with interesting characters.
Probably one my favorite things that he’s been involved with is the character Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). As my occasional birthday song proves, I have a personal love for musical satire, and next to Dewey Cox in Walk Hard, Snow takes the cake for modern faux idols. I love that Segel actually contributed lyrics to Snow in both Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and the spin-off Get Him to the Greek. I am not calling Segel the lyrical genius, but when his credits include “Dracula’s Lament,” “Inside of You,” and “Going Up,” he manages to find the line between parody and songs that rock. He’s no Brett McKenzie, but I’ll listen to those soundtracks in awe every time.
While I came across loving Seth Rogen the persona, I just love Jason Segel the performer. While he doesn’t have a perfect track record, he has plenty of talent. More than anything, this gives me hope that he’ll continue to surprise me, whether it be through song, dance, or puppetry. Even when he’s playing a more dramatic scene, he comes across as very convincing. This is something that I don’t think that Rogen will even achieve with Take This Waltz, though he almost did in 50/50.
Because of everything, I am finding myself with a deep quandary. Why is it that I love him on all of these shows and movies, yet I cannot get into How I Met Your Mother? I have watched a handful of episodes, but come away feeling the typical annoyance I get with all CBS shows. I even openly bash the show on our podcast, though I feel that it’s more towards the CBS format and my understanding that the plot has become convoluted. Yet I still feel awkward not watching the show because it has a relatively likable cast. I am taking it as a sign that maybe it’s time to try again now that it’s available for streaming on Netflix.
This week’s blog isn’t necessarily a defense for Jason Segel. I don’t feel that there is that big of a backlash against him as there has been on Seth Rogen and his stoner persona (though his career evolution is amazing). I just feel like people misinterpret my thoughts about him that I make on the show sometimes. Segel is a likable guy and because he’s working again with Nicolas Stoller, a team that almost guarantees something great, I am excited to see the Five-Year Engagement because I am expecting more shocking self-deprecation like the fire hydrant scene. I would even love a new original song or two. It also helps that he’s surrounded himself with people I like, including Chris Pratt, Alison Brie, and Brian Posehn. Maybe it won’t enter the zeitgeist alongside Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but I’m hoping that there is as much ingenuity and laughs in this films as I got out of the trailers.
You can read Thom’s blog every Wednesday and hear him on Nerd’s Eye View every Tuesday and Thursday at nevpodcast.com. Send your thoughts to nevpodcast@gmail.com. You can also read Thom’s movie reviews for Cinema Beach at http://cinemabeach.com
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