Oh hello there, remember me? I'm the guy that used to go to a lot of movies and would then tell you what I think of them on this blog. You may have a hard time picturing me as I have been slacking on the movies as of late, but have no fear, my refillable popcorn bucket and Diet Soda container made our triumphant return this morning to the local theaters.

While it seems that almost everyone in America went to see The Avengers this weekend, I decided to slip into the side theater and check out The Five-Year Engagement. Believe it or not, this romantic comedy features a couple who is engaged for, yup, you guessed it... five years!

Jason Segel and Emily Blunt star as Tom and Violet, a couple who becomes engaged exactly one-year after they met at a New Year's Eve costume party. Violet is hoping to fill a position that has become available in the Psychology department at Berkley, while Tom is on the verge of becoming the head chef at a San Francisco hot spot. But sometimes things don't go exactly as planned.

After learning she has been offered a position at the University of Michigan, Violet and Tom pack their lives and head east. Upon arriving in Ann Arbor Tom quickly finds out that leaving a posh job like the one he had in the Bay Area isn't exactly the easiest way to scores a new job in the small college town. Meanwhile Violet is quickly becoming the hit of the Michigan Psych Department and her new found success begins to drive a wedge into her and Tom's relationship.

Much like every other romantic comedy that has been made over the course of the two main character's fictional engagement, this is a love story that features its peaks and valleys.

I wasn't writing reviews three years ago or else you would have read me complaining about the biggest drop off from first half to second half in movie history after I saw Funny People. In what can only be good news for Adam Sandler, this movie is rapidly approaching that territory. It felt like when this script was written that they were trying to make it into a raunchy R-rated comedy to differentiate it from all of the other PG-13 rom-com's in Hollywood. However there is a reason that the PG-13 versions work. They don't try so damn hard to be funny by throwing in expletives (see what I did there). They let the cast do their jobs and showcase their skills.

Jason Segel does a decent job playing the Jonah Hill type character, however Emily Blunt takes the pole position in best female lead for this genera leaving Katherine Heigl in the dust.

I have previously declared my affection for Scarlett Johansson, and in order to avoid getting the look from a particularly beautiful woman that I married, I'll just quickly mention that Emily Blunt has rocketed towards the top of my Females in Hollywood list. Something tells me that a dinner party hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Jim Halpert could be a good time, unfortunately for me it may be a tad further than five years away.

The Five-Year Engagement
Directed by: Nicholas Stoller
Written by: Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller
Starring: Jason Segel, Emily Blunt and Chris Pratt
My Rating: 2.5 out of 5 (that's a 5 for the first half, and a 0 for the second half)
Would Gene Pick it?: Yes - duh... Emily Blunt!