by Dave Griffiths

Created on: February 18, 2013

It’s been a pretty bleak few months for anybody who likes a good comedy film. Sure there have been more than a few comedy films hit the big screen but they have all been unfunny and not really worth the money you have to pay to see them... then of course there was also ‘Movie 43’ which really saw the comedy genre reach a whole new low.

But now comes

‘I Give It A Year’ a British (anti) romantic comedy directed by Dan Mazer a man who is best known for being one of the screenwriters on Sacha Baron Cohen’s hit films ‘Borat’ and ‘Bruno’. Now ‘I Give It A Year’ may not exactly be one the best comedies ever but it is funny enough to certainly warrant a look and it will make you laugh – now that’s a definite step up from some of the other comedies that have been released recently.

In a bizarre twist for the romantic comedy genre, ‘I Give It A Year’ is actually more about wanting to see a couple split rather than wanting to see a couple get together. The film begins with the wedding of Nat (Rose Byrne) and Josh (Rafe Spall), a marriage that almost seems doomed from the start as the priest chokes at an important time and the reception is kind of ruined by the best man, Dan (Stephen Merchant) whose jokes go down like a lead balloon.

Flash-forward to nine months down the track and now Nat and Josh’s marriage has already hit the skids. The pair decides to try marriage counseling, which almost seems like a mistake seeing they end up being counseled by a counselor (Olivia Colman) so inept at her job she does more damage than good. Their marriage is then further tested when Nat’s new advertising client turns out to be charming American, Guy (Simon Baker) while Josh seems to spend more and more time with his ex-girlfriend Chloe (Anna Faris).

The first thing that ‘I Give It A Year’ needs to be praised for is the fact that the film bucks the romantic trend, in fact Mazer takes the usual mold that is used to make a romantic comedy and completely smashes it, and the result it something fresh that is guaranteed to make the audience happy. Mazer’s screenplay has also conjured about some interesting and unique characters that also allow for a strange natural feel to seep into the film – these are characters that you feel like you could run into on any day of your life and for that reason the audience is guaranteed to quickly warm to it.

But there is still

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