‘I Love You Man’ at 15: How Paul Rudd Perfected His Bass-Slappingly Relatable Role
When it comes to the most heralded leading-man roles from 2009, movie fans will likely first point to Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), George Clooney (Up in the Air), or eventual Oscar winner Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart). But if it was up to John Hamburg, they’d also be looking at Paul Rudd.
“Granted, I’m the movie’s director, but to me, Paul’s performance is as good as anything that got nominated for awards [that year],” says Hamburg, recalling Rudd’s unfiltered—and perhaps underappreciated—brilliance in his bromantic comedy I Love You Man. “To make a super-awkward character empathetic and relatable is challenging,” he points out. “What he and Jason [Segel] are doing [in that movie] takes enormous skill and commitment. You really need to be gifted to execute that.”
Released 15 years ago this week, Hamburg’s male-centered rom-com sees Rudd playing Peter Klaven, a nice guy and husband-to-be who sadly lacks any meaningful male friendships. When this is pointed out by his fiancée Zooey, played by Rashida Jones, Peter embarks on a quest to secure a new best pal before his wedding day arrives. Enter Segel’s Sydney Fife: an unvarnished and laid-back free spirit who promises to deliver exactly what Peter is after—if only he can silence his cringey social awkwardness long enough to make this new bromance work.