DVD Film Review: I Give It A Year

Film review by Tom Hunt

Note: The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of RetoxMagazine.com

I Give It A Year

Featuring one of my favourite comedy actors at the moment, Rafe Spall (Pete VS Life), and with an interesting premise, I Give It A Year looked set up to be another successful charming English romcom. Sadly something happens a long the way that makes the film fall at the final hurdle.

Pictured: I Give It A Year poster.

Following newly weds Nat (Rose Bryne) and Josh (Rafe Spall), we see that everyone in their lives seem to know one thing they don't; they're complete opposites. Their friends think they're bound to fail, and Josh's parents let them know the hardest part of marriage is the first year. The young couple naively shrug this off believing they're different, they'll break the mould and be the exception to the rule. Of course, however, they're not. Throughout the film we see how Nat and Josh struggle to 'gel' as a married couple, while at the same time individually being drawn into temptation; Nat by her attractive, charming new business partner, Guy (Simon Baker), and Josh by his ex girlfriend, Chloe (Anna Faris) who we're lead to believe couldn't be more right for him.

The problem with I Give It A Year is that somehow, while we're meant to care about these characters, we just don't. They're bitterly un-likable, in nearly all aspects. And it's impossible to buy into, or root for anybody's happiness because you just don't care. Josh is lazy, inattentive and a little selfish. Nat is high-strung, and in reality just a bit of a b***h. We begin to see quite clearly they're not right for each other, but by seeing this we begin to dislike each character individually for their own flaws, rather than hope they both begin to see this themselves and either reconcile or find happiness apart.

The problem with I Give It A Year lies with the way the story was handled. It was a nice idea from your usual romantic comedy. It becomes apparent pretty quickly these two individuals aren't meant to be together, and probably won't end up working things out. But the story could have been handled better, instead of treating each other so awfully it would have been quite nice to see them trying a lot harder, albeit in vein, to make things work – because it's hard to imagine in the world of a romantic comedy that these two people wouldn't care for each other in some way (at least platonically, if not romantically), because that's not the sort of world romantic comedies live in. If the case was to make them unlikable in the first place, then how are we ever meant to get on board with either of their stories? In real life, if you have the realisation that you're just meant to be with someone, it's hardly hatred and fury that goes through your mind, instead sadness and I dare say guilt. We just don't see this between Nat and Josh, and the supporting characters of Guy and Chloe are just as unlikable for their own separate ways; Guy because he's an ass, and Chloe because she's such a pushover.

There are some laughs in there, mainly by Rafe Spall who is wonderful at getting that cringey, awkward humour across, but it's not enough to save a film which had the promise to be more than it was.