Man Up

Name: Man Up
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance
Released: November 13, 2015
Duration: 88 min
Rating: 69

2015

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 43 Ratings

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6.9

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6.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 43 Ratings

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Man Up: Nancy And Jack Meet

Now Playing: Man Up: Nancy And Jack Meet

Movie Details & Credits

Saban Films | Release Date: November 13, 2015 | R

Summary: Nancy (Lake Bell), is done with dating. 10 times bitten, 100 times shy, she’s exhausted by the circus. So when Jack (Simon Pegg) blindly mistakes her for his date, no one is more surprised than her when she does the unthinkable and just —- goes with it. It’s going to take a night of pretending to be someone else for Nancy to finally Man UpNancy (Lake Bell), is done with dating. 10 times bitten, 100 times shy, she’s exhausted by the circus. So when Jack (Simon Pegg) blindly mistakes her for his date, no one is more surprised than her when she does the unthinkable and just —- goes with it. It’s going to take a night of pretending to be someone else for Nancy to finally Man Up and be her painfully honest, awesomely unconventional self… but will Jack also Man Up, and be able to get over her duplicity? Best just to let the evening unfold, roll with the consequences, and see if one crazy, unpredictable, complicated night can bring these two messy souls together.… Expand

Director: Ben Palmer

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy, Romance

Rating: R

Runtime: 88 min

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Critic Reviews

The Playlist Kate Erbland

Apr 23, 2015

The film is rife with contrivances and clichés, but it engages with them in a respectful and clever manner, enough to sell even the silliest ideas. Man Up knows what it is, and the result is unexpectedly refreshing and exceedingly charming. Read full review

Michael Rechtshaffen

Nov 12, 2015

Frequently laugh-out-loud funny and tangibly tender where it ought to be, the immensely satisfying screwball romp feels freshly contemporary even as it largely conforms to genre conventions. Read full review

Sara Stewart

Nov 13, 2015

This featherweight comedy from director Ben Palmer (“The Inbetweeners Movie”) is a lot more fun than many heftier, supposed rom-coms, thanks to the timing and chemistry of its leads. Read full review

Guy Lodge

Apr 21, 2015

The upshot of this loopy masquerade is more predictable than it is progressive, but considerably pleasurable thanks to Morris’s generous supply of pithy one-liners and the resourceful, ribald skills of Bell, as engaging and elastic a comic everywoman here as she was in her impressive directorial debut “In a World … ” Read full review

Dan Gvozden

Nov 12, 2015

Pegg's comic chops elevate even the most juvenile of jokes, but it's Bell's daring and impolite performance that steals the show. Read full review

Mike D'Angelo

Nov 12, 2015

Rather than aim for uproarious, it constantly settles for amusing. Read full review

Kenji Fujishima

Nov 9, 2015

Lake Bell and Simon Pegg's star wattage isn't enough to distract from the sense that their characters are almost exclusively defined by their single-ness. Read full review

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User Reviews

moonman1994

Apr 17, 2016

A well done and consistently funny romantic comedy. The entire cast did a good job in their respective roles and the film was well directed. It is definitely a romantic comedy that I'd recommend.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

weirdcryo

Dec 26, 2015

Probably one of the best romantic comedy out there, it isn't cheesy, the director made a couple of great calls, there are some hilarious moments but the best things about this movie are Simon Pegg and Lake Bell performances.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

smiyamot

Feb 3, 2016

A romantic comedy with a different approach, she steals someone else's blind date. Sounds like a train wreck of a story line, but this is a movie so of course they hit it off. In a film like this, it's the actors that make it good or not. Lake Bell (with an English accent) and Simon PeggA romantic comedy with a different approach, she steals someone else's blind date. Sounds like a train wreck of a story line, but this is a movie so of course they hit it off. In a film like this, it's the actors that make it good or not. Lake Bell (with an English accent) and Simon Pegg really make the movie. Must be something in the facial expressions, the throw away lines, but they are good separately and together.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

EpicLadySponge

Mar 12, 2016

Man Up easily tells you to man up before and after watching this movie. You'll easily be reminded to man up 24/7 after watching this movie and you're going to love it.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Meth-dude

Dec 13, 2015

Romantic comedies are always the same, predictable, not original and whatever happens they always end up together.And this movie is no exception but, it still manages to be entertaining thanks to Simon Pegg's brilliant performance.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

TVJerry

Apr 28, 2021

Simon Pegg tries to pivot his comic skills to a romantic angle, as he plays a man on a blind date (with Lake Bell). Turns out she’s the wrong person, but she doesn’t tell him, so they go on to have a fun time. As expected, their initial awkwardness gradually turns into affection. Pegg isSimon Pegg tries to pivot his comic skills to a romantic angle, as he plays a man on a blind date (with Lake Bell). Turns out she’s the wrong person, but she doesn’t tell him, so they go on to have a fun time. As expected, their initial awkwardness gradually turns into affection. Pegg is almost manic trying to ramp up his charm, while staying funny. Bell embodies her self-conscious, unhappy character with easy effort. While there’s nothing especially new here, the zippy pace, silly situations and overall enjoyable performances create a mildly-screwball, somewhat amusing romcom.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ClariseSamuels

Mar 18, 2016

Although Simon Pegg is not credited with any writing on this film, one always expects that his presence will guarantee a hilarious film that is absurdly complicated, intriguing, and great fun to watch. But this time, maybe not so much. Pegg's fast-talking, nervous character, Jack, whoAlthough Simon Pegg is not credited with any writing on this film, one always expects that his presence will guarantee a hilarious film that is absurdly complicated, intriguing, and great fun to watch. But this time, maybe not so much. Pegg's fast-talking, nervous character, Jack, who mistakenly thinks he has just met his perfect match on a blind date set up by a friend, is certainly a tour de force that provides some psychological insight into a motor mouth who is perpetually engaging Freud's free-associative method. However, Jack's emotional journey does not have the expressive intensity or uncanny absurdism to make the film a study in brilliant comedic discourse—not quite achieving that signature blend which can be recognized as pure Peggian.

The chemistry between Nancy (Lake Bell) and Jack is too overstated to be a comedic adventure that is also appealingly intellectual. They both carry around notebooks with mantras (such as "learn French" and "get stronger thighs") and other simple self-help exercises. The constant referencing of these sophomoric notebooks by both characters is a major thread in the plot. To establish that they accidentally fall in love, the film resorts to a montage of images showing the two lovers acting wild and crazy at the bowling lanes, with Nancy often in kneeling positions to show off her derriere as viewed in jeans that are so tight, the seams are surely about to split open. Presumably, this gives Jack more incentive to fall madly in love.

Bell's character is particularly problematic. Nancy is also a jittery talker, but her persona is a bit darker than Jack's, for she is disillusioned and jaded about the state of her love life. She has nearly given up on the singles scene, preferring to avoid a party and stay in her hotel room, eating by herself and watching “The Silence of the Lambs,” which for bizarrely unexplained reasons, she knows by heart. Nancy is an odd admixture, acting like the British answer to a ditzy Annie Hall (Bell is actually American), but without the saving grace of being lighthearted, naive, and charmingly adorable. Instead, Nancy combines Annie Hall with the protagonists usually played by Woody Allen, a disenchanted Sad Sack who feels like an eternal loser at love. She is sardonic, hostile, and withdrawn, but unlike Allen's characters, she is not engaged in a deeper philosophical quest to resolve her sense of alienation. (And an almost incomprehensible dialogue about “The Blow Job Paradox” does not count as a philosophical system.) In the end, her quest is rather basic, if not positively adolescent—she simply needs a boyfriend.

The resolution to the dilemma of the mistaken identity and the resulting bond between Nancy and Jack becomes increasingly predictable and not terribly humorous. As far as Simon Pegg movies go, this one has its moments, but it merely skims the surface of Pegg's prodigious talent.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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