MAN UP
DIRECTED BY: Ben Palmer
STARRING: Lake Bell, Simon Pegg, Rory Kinnear
For this review, I chose to shed light on a smaller film that I recently witnessed during one of my Netflix nights. As I was moving through the lineup of films, I suddenly came across a Simon Pegg film that I had not yet seen entitled “Man Up”. I’m a huge Simon Pegg fan, and usually make it a choice to watch anything he’s in. So I pulled up the trailer to this movie, and it seemed like it would be a good choice. Turns out…I was right.
“Man Up” tells the story of Nancy, a 34-year-old woman who has so far been very unsuccessful at matters of the heart. Her sister encourages her to put herself out there, and hopes that she can find happiness one day. Nancy shares a train ride with Jessica, a 24-year-old who’s on her way to a blind date. After Nancy acts rudely, Jessica gives her a self-help book that she is infatuated with called “6 Billion People And You”. When Nancy tries to chase after Jessica in the train station to return the book to her, she is stopped by Jack, the man who is supposed to be Jessica’s blind date, who immediately believes Nancy to be Jessica because of the book. After a few unsuccessful attempts at telling him the truth, Nancy decides to follow through with the lie, thinking that maybe something could form out of it.
The character of Nancy is played by Lake Bell, who honestly gives a really good performance and carries the biggest portion of the film. She’s one of the few American actresses who uses a British accent in a film and doesn’t make me question it. Pegg portrays Jack, a 40-year-old who’s currently going through a divorce from a woman who cheated on him, and feels that dating a 24-year-old will help him cope with things. Both Pegg and Bell feel like they should be dating, even after he finds out her real identity. And once he does, the argument that ensues is both truthful and hilarious. Especially the sequence when Jack realizes that he left his bag back at a bar the two were at, and her notebook is inside it as well. So the two race each other to try and be the first one to arrive back at the bar. Jack grabs a taxi, while Nancy starts off running, until she has to make her way through a small group of drunk girls, then has to grab a bicycle. And they BOTH manage to make it to the bar at the same time!
One of the characters who almost steals the show is Sean, played by Rory Kinnear. Sean is a former classmate of Nancy who has an incredibly creepy infatuation with her, totally on stalker level. He’s actually the reason why Nancy’s lie is first exposed to Jack. You can tell that Kinnear is having a lot of fun with the character with his performance, especially the scene in the bathroom of the bowling alley where he works when he tries to force Nancy to kiss him or else he’ll tell Jack everything. And, of course, he gets practically naked for it to happen. You’ll never look at a scarf the same way again.
I’m not saying that seeing this film is a “Your Life May Just Depend On It”-type situation. Far from that. What I am saying is that if you’re a fan of romantic comedies, and you enjoy smaller films, this is a pretty good one to turn on one night when you’re struggling for something to watch, then suddenly remember that you have Netflix. I definitely give “Man Up” my stamp of approval! Until next time…
