‘Man Up’ Is Without A Doubt The Best Romantic Comedy Of The 2010s

The romantic comedy is a dying genre. It’s a sad truth, and luckily not all is lost as it bends and takes on new shapes. But if we’ve learned anything from these films it’s that you can’t just sit around and cry about it — you’ve got to get out there because when you least expect it, The One will find you.

Man Up is The One when it comes to rom-coms in the 2010s. It’s the best one, the funniest one, and the one that so clearly obeys the rules of rom-coms while still managing to inject new life into the genre. It’s the perfect reminder that sometimes the com in rom-com is actually short for comfort.

Lake Bell stars in the utterly charming film, written by Tess Morris and directed by Ben Palmer, as a single woman in her mid-30’s in London who can’t even sit on a train and eat a sandwich without someone worrying about her personal life — because everyone’s got an opinion on it, and surely knows what’s best for you. From engaged friends to nosy family to the overly peppy train stranger (trainger, if you will) — and you can tell she’s overly peppy just by the way her ponytail swings when she walks — Bell’s Nancy is too busy bathing in the justified cynicism she feels towards the modern dating scene. If she wants to skip a celebration for her friends’ diamond ring-inspired joy and sit in a hotel room with room service and The Silence of the Lambs, that’s her business. But alas, she puts on a dress and some makeup, only to be set up for yet another pointless and overly awkward male encounter.

The thing that Man Up nails oh so hard is Nancy’s relatability. I mean, it’s hard to relate to how well Bell perfects the British accent, which is so natural it never takes you out of the story, cough One Day, cough. But not since Katherine Heigl’s wistful glance at her overstuffed closet in 27 Dresses has a female lead hit so close to home, with Nancy giving off IT ME vibes throughout the entire film. Nancy’s got the same insecurities as all of us, but it just happens to be paired with a better sense of humor. She’s not a spazzy hot mess — sure, she includes washing her black underwear on her to-do list and can’t seem to concentrate on writing a toast for her parents’ anniversary, but she’s mostly got her life together and she’s fine with it. A man would be nice, but who can be bothered with breaking out of your daily routine to deal with that annoyance?

So it’s not until the trainger’s blind date mistakes Nancy for the woman he’s supposed to be meeting that we see Nancy take a leap. Sure, maybe not a polite one as she’s stealing a date and lying to a man right off the bat, but hello, this “under the large clock” interaction is the foundation that romantic comedies are built on! It’s a perfect meet cute. They’re meeting under a clock, holding a self help book, never so much as exchanging texts beforehand — how quaint! It’s a beautiful whoopsie daisy, and one that so expertly captures the awkwardness of first encounters. Plus, and this is an important distinction, we already know Nancy isn’t crazy — she’s simply got nothing to lose. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to get rid of the incessant chirping of that depressing yet wonderfully magical and hopeful statement in her ear, “It will happen,” most recently promised by her sister Elaine (Sharon Horgan).

Man Up goes on to perfectly display the jitteriness that comes along with a first date and the excitement of learning what you have in common with this new person. It also pinpoints the horror of running into an ex, and even a wannabe ex, giving a complete look at relationships from the fun, exciting first moments where nothing else matters, to the past ones that hurt so badly, and even the nonexistent relationships that sometimes hurt even more.

Pegg’s Jack is a total dream date, cracking jokes that are as funny as they are cheesy, exuding an infectious eagerness that leads the pair to become quickly emotionally vulnerable with each other before moving along to sexy bowling, such a bad idea they’re a great idea tequila shots, and even a frustration-fueled Duran Duran dance off. Oh, and those aren’t the only rom-com tropes this film dares to tackle: from the half chase through a train station, the full chase through the streets of London and a proper parade through the London suburbs, there’s no venue, mode of transportation, or mix up that’s going to keep these two from being together. Even you, former classmate of Nancy’s and creepy perv of the decade, Sean (played by Rory Kinnear to new, yet delightful, levels of annoying).

Because that’s the thing: we’ve been rooting for these two from the start, and not just because the trailer told us to. Nancy and Jack share the kind of friction between them that, when rubbed together, creates a fire in their pants and their souls. Armed with the bickering of When Harry Met Sally and the British charm of Bridget Jones’s Diary, Man Up is unstoppably delightful at every step of the way. It’s just so simply fun to watch two people fall in love in a movie that knows how to make you think, “Wow and these two weren’t even supposed to be together!” but it’s like, duh, of course they were always supposed to meet and end up together.

Man Up makes you want to yell at the screen, “Tell each other how you really feel!” when they each skip their opportunity to be honest, and will make you melt when they instinctively put their differences aside for a moment to stick up for each other — mere strangers! Remember, this all takes place over the course of a day, a day that ends in Jack delivering his “I’m also just a girl standing in front of a boy, asking him to love me” speech in front of Nancy and her whole family, Please note, this function also serves as the ever-important opportunity to tearily list off the quirky traits about the other person that made you fall in love with them in the first place.

This rom-com knows how to honor those that have come before it, sure to include a scene where the characters shout at each other, “You know what your problem is?” and lining up another chance at love for these two, who for sure blew it the first time. Its unabashed love and devotion to romantic comedies is honorable, but it’s also modern in that it gives everyone a happy ending, including Train Jessica, who turns out to be so sweet and understanding, and even Pervy Sean who is promised sexy pictures in his future. This is a film that successfully leaves you floating, feeling inspired and hopeful in a way so pure you don’t even feel embarrassed by it. Fuck the past, Man Up will go down as one of cinema’s finest romantic comedies of our time.

Where to watch Man Up