The art of the of the "romantic comedy" is actually pretty difficult to master, despite skepticism from guys everywhere. A hot male lead is not the only required ingredient. Examples of such films that have got it right are Pretty Woman (1990), There's Something About Mary (1998), My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), How to lose a guy in 10 days (2003), and most recently Knocked Up. So if Judd Apatow is the pioneer of the new age of romantic comedies, should we trust one of his pals Jason Segel ("How I Met Mother") to deliver his first script and lead part with the charm/crass that we've grown to love in Forgetting Sarah Marshall?
Segel's writing debut is a film about a guy who gets dumped by his TV actress girlfriend (Kristen Bell) and then attempts to escape it all by going on vacation (kind of like In the Land of Women), only to discover that not only is she there with her hot new actor boyfriend (British newcomer Russell Brand), but her room is next door, her dinner table is inches away, and no matter how hard he tries to get away from her, she's always right around the corner. Even though he has a supportive best friend (SNL's Bill Hader), along the way he gets helpful guidance from hotel employees played by Mila Kunis, Johan Hill, and Paul Rudd. The trailer isn't exactly as much of a laugh riot as Knocked Up's, but the simple fact that fate will not separate him from his ex-girlfriend is hilarious in itself, because everybody's experienced that Groundhog's Day feeling with some annoying portion of their life.
Release Date: May 30, 2008
Even if Segel doesn't succeed as well as his buds have in the past, he can rest assured that it will do much better than Paris Hilton's romantic comedy debut. In The Hottie and the Nottie, the semi-amusing Joel Moore (Grandma's Boy) plays a guy who's been fawning over the same girl (Paris Hilton) since elementary school. When he sees her again, he decides to go for it and she actually agrees. But it turns out she has a rule: She will not date another guy, unless her best friend--the Nottie (played by an unrecognizable Christine Lakin from "Step by Step")--gets a boyfriend. So of course in the predictable manner, he searches high and low for some poor schmuck who'll go out with the most hideous version of the "ugly best friend" that has ever walked the Earth. Paris Hilton isn't that bad in the trailer, but at least Jessica Simpson got an early Christmas gift.
Release Date: February 8, 2008
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