The hardest part about conducting an interview with Jason Segel and Paul Rudd is trying not to laugh long enough to ask your question. The comedic duo are constantly launching off of each other’s comments and basking in the waves of uncontrollable snickers from their audience, a conference call of college journalists.
Here is just one example of the pair’s revelry:
Rudd: What are some of your favorite bro-mantic films Jason, from say the ‘80s?
Segel: Well I don’t know if this is from the ‘80s, but I think my favorite bro-mantic comedy is Midnight Cowboy.
Rudd: Oh, very good yeah. I like Twins.
Segel: Twins is pretty great, that’s a great buddy movie. Also, not bad as the follow-up, is Junior.
Rudd: Another great bro-mantic comedy.
Segel: Dumb and Dumber.
Rudd: Schindler’s List.
The two appear in the upcoming “bro-mantic” comedy, I Love You, Man, a tale about Peter Klaven (Rudd) a recently engaged real estate agent who is in desperate need for a best man. In his quest for a suitable male counterpart, he meets Sydney Fife (Segel), a wacky but charming man. The two bond but as they grow closer in their bro-love, Peter’s relationship with his fiancé, played by Rashida Jones (The Office), begins to break down.
The flick takes a look at the complexities of a “bro-mantic relationship,” something that Segel and Rudd agree is a dish best served as inappropriate as possible.
“I think it’s a long time coming that you’ve seen a good male platonic comedy,” Segel said. “And that’s what we’re going for and we got as close to the homo-erotic line as possible without crossing it. Which I think we both found comedicly satisfying.”
Bro-mance is not a new concept. It has been very much alive since the first guy proclaimed “bros before hoes.”
It seems that the idea has just recently become popularized by shows like Entourage, which demonstrate the dedication it takes to be a true “bro.”
“It just seems to be the word of the moment — “bro-mantic” — because there have really been films throughout the decade that have fallen into that category, but were never called bro-mantic,” Rudd said.
This will not be the first time the pair will appear on the big screen together. The two co-starred in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, the hilarious brainchild of Segel that featured very real and very unforgettable full frontal male nudity.
“What attracts me is the fact that we have all known each other for so long,” Segel said. “We formed a pretty tight comedy coalition as I like to call it. So it was just a very, very comfortable environment, you know. Paul and I worked together a bunch.”
“I also call it a comfortable coalition,” Rudd added. “But what I do, I change it up. I like comedy, I like to do it with ‘K’ so I’m in a very comfortable comedic coalition.”
“But, Paul that’s KKK,” Segel said, in a mock horror.
“Oops,” Rudd replied.
I Love You, Man hits theatres March 20.