3. The Five-Year Engagement
There was never a feeling in my mind that The Five-Year Engagement would be a bad film given the cast and talent involved, but I simply never expected it to be
this great, especially over a relatively lengthy 124-minute runtime (at least for a rom-com). When the story begins, Tom (Jason Segel) and Violet (Emily Blunt) are happy in a relationship, when Tom proposes, and again, everything seems fab, as they slowly begin to plan their nuptials. However, various interceding family events and job prospects interrupt their wedding plans, causing it to be delayed for countless years on end, while Tom, who has sacrificed the job of his dreams to move to Michigan for Violet's pHD program, finds himself increasingly dissatisfied with his life. Above all else, this is an achingly honest film about the various travails that a relationship can encounter, and how shifting expectations and life events can alter the tide of said relationship. What seemed like a relatively brisk, light comedy is in fact a far more intelligent, nuanced film about the pragmatic nature of relationships, and how this can be resolved. The superb chemistry between the leads helps this one fly by, and again, it's a couple that we positively can root for.