Tom Solomon (Jason Segal) and Violet Barnes (Emily Blunt) are a couple in love. So much so that Tom plans out the perfect proposal until he botches it up while in the car with Violet, having to blurt out a proposal. Of course that doesn’t stop the couple from continuing with Tom’s plans in the most adorably awkward way.
The Five Year Engagement is another one of those romantic comedies centered on an upcoming, but severely delayed, wedding. From the producer of Bridesmaids, you get witty banter and the occasional crude joke (although nothing compares to Bridesmaids in this particular Rom Com category).
Tom and Violet share their engagement with family, including the funny duo made up of Violet’s sister Suzie (Alison Brie from Community) and Tom’s best friend Alex (Chris Pratt from Parks and Recreation). Just as they are all celebrating this great occasion, Violet finds out that she was accepted into a postdoctoral program in social psychology at the Unversity of Michigan. The problem: They live in San Francisco, where Tom is a sous chef at a well-respected restaurant—a career he loves. But relationships are about compromise, so Tom puts his career plus the wedding on hold for Violet to pursue her own dreams.
Being in Michigan brings new changes for the couple—freezing cold weather, strange new friends and classmates, a flirty professor for Violet, and scary-looking mutton chops for Tom. They face all of this and more as they continue to put off a wedding, much to the dismay of their families (and as elderly family members begin to die off). A lot can happen in five years.
This comedy has its funniest moments between Violet and her sister Suzie, especially a particular scene featuring Elmo and Cookie Monster impersonations (although Alex’s crude humor gets some laughs as well). Any movie that makes the audience laugh out loud is worth seeing, and this is one of them. The Five Year Engagement opens in theaters April 27.
Check out a real engagement that occurred during a Q&A for The Five Year Engagement below:
