Man Up

This review may contain spoilers!

A film that is classic British comedy at it's finest. i would give Man Up a 7.5/10.

This review flaunts a perfect balance of comedy as well as charming romance plot; there is a sense that the film understands where it needs to be mature and where it needs to be immature. The movie is paced incredibly well, always progressing at a very natural pace. The soundtrack for this film was well picked with every track accompanying scenes flawlessly.

Lake Bell, who played Nancy, is a fantastic protagonist; while you take a bit to get used to her performance you soon realise that she has created a character that is natural and charming and awkward all unto herself. Ken Stott and Harriet Walter, who played Bert and Fran respectively, are incredibly sweet and have a ton of chemistry in their scenes; their characters are always the constant silver lining of the film.

However the best performance came from Simon Pegg, who played Jack. In this film Pegg brings a character to life who is incredibly natural and who works with Bell's performance in every way. His awkward charm makes him incredibly likeable from the get go but beyond that we see so much progression from him. His anger and frustration, even vindictiveness when he discovers Nancy's secret is well portrayed. It's only triumphed by the scene where he breaks down after meeting his ex-wife at the bar. A truly inspired performance.

Man Up really suffered from it's cinematography and editing, the film played it quite safe with it's shots and cuts. It didn't have a visual style that stood out.

Rory Kinnear, who played Sean, was probably one of my least favourite performances in this film; his acting way exaggerated going so far as to create a character that didn't even remotely feel real. Olivia Williams and Stephen Campbell Moore, who played Jack's Ex-wife and Ed respectively, gave very stiff performances; they shared little chemistry and Williams herself had no chemistry at all with Pegg. Sharon Morgan and Henry Lloyd-Hughes, who played Elaine and Daniel respectively, weren't exactly the centre of attention in this film; even when they were onscreen they lacked presence and swiftly faded back into the background. Ophelia Lovibond, who played Jessica, felt completely artificial; she had a habit of acting in a way that wasn't very realistic or grounded at all.