The new film “I Love You, Man” is a revelation. If only because, it introduces two hugely dorky Jews as leading men. Shouldn’t they be movie execs? Or own football teams?
Heck no, says the film: Jewish men are hot—even desirable—so what if they’re overgrown 13-year-olds with a penchant for pot, pornography and very sexy (not-so-Jewish) women? (For verification, see any Judd Apatow film.)
If the Judd Apatow films “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up” and “Superbad” pioneered territory where nebbishy, Jewish loser-types came across as cool, “I Love You, Man” takes that one step further: this film posits not one, but two decidedly handsome Jewish guys (who don’t have to pretend to be cool but actually are) in the lead. (Sorry Seth Rogen.) And this type of leading man—the Jewish one, that is—has a distinctive quality: he loves other men. Intimately.
The New York Times already touted the film a “bromance”—a new genre that centers on (purely nonsexual) emotional intimacy between men. In the upcoming film, it is not the dream of a smart, beautiful woman that drives Rudd’s character on an adventure journey, but the pursuit of a guy pal, a best friend. Finding a woman? Easy. But another man you can love and cherish through weddings and kids’ bar mitzvahs and college tuition payments? That’s the search for a Jewish man’s soul.
Read this NY Times piece for more on the “bromance” (even though it focuses on Paul Rudd as the leading man when I hear Jason Segel steals the show).
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