I Give It a Year [Blu-ray]

3.5 stars... utterly predictable as it is enjoyable
I saw this movie in February of this year when I happened to be in Sydney, Australia and it just opened in the theatres there. The DVD/Blue-Ray is already available from Amazon's UK website.

"I Give It a Year" (2013 release; 97 min.) is a British rom-com that follows a young couple in the first year of their marriage. Nat (played by Rose Byrne) and Josh (played by Rafe Spall) marry only months after meeting and then find out that marriage isn't all they thought it would be. We find the couple at a marriage counselor retelling in flashbacks what has happened, primarily Nat being courted by a smooth American business executive (played by Simon "Then Mentalist" Baker) and Josh still having feelings for an ex-girlfriend (played by Anna Faris). To tell you much more of the plot would surely ruin your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Several comments: this movie goes blatantly after the same vibe that made "Four Wedding and...

bitter sweet and really real, not so sweet
I just laughed and cringed my way through this excellent movie. A quick marriage built on lust,
quickly unravels and what fun and a bit painful it all is. Rose Byrne and Rafe Spall are the
not for each other newlyweds who go through quite a time together. Anna Farris and Simon Baker
are suitably unsuitable also.

The ending is quite ridiculously wonderful, as one would expect
from a director who did Bridget Jones and Love Actually, two of my other favorite rom-coms.

Made me want to have a do-over for my former marriages, maybe my former life in general, if such
a thing were possible.

In this movie it is possible and sooooo funny. Enjoy with someone you might just love after all.

Hilarious anti-romcom
It's refreshing to see that the art of cringingly awkward faux pas humor hasn't been forgotten, and this movie does an excellent job of taking it and flying with it. My only expectation going in was 'comedy' rather than a sappy drama or something formulaic, and it did not disappoint. Not that it didn't have any poignant moments, but when it did, it came off as meta, which I'm perfectly fine with.
I highly recommend for those who enjoy 'Coupling' or 'the Office' (original UK version. Interestingly enough, Stephen Merchant is also in here as the obnoxious and repellent best friend, though at times his lines feel more like a separate timeout for his standup routine instead of engaging with the ensemble).

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