I Give It a Year

Cast & Crew

Rose Byrne

Nat

Rafe Spall

Josh

Anna Faris

Chloe

Simon Baker

Guy

Jason Flemyng

Hugh

Minnie Driver

Naomi

Stephen Merchant

Danny

Olivia Colman

Linda

Jane Asher

Diana

Kerry Howard

Clare

Joseph Millson

Charlie

Craig Izzard

Jacob

Dan Mazer

Director

Dan Mazer

Screenwriter

Tim Bevan

Producer

Eric Fellner

Producer

Jane Hooks

Producer

Kris Thykier

Producer

Debra Hayward

Executive Producer

Ben Davis

Cinematographer

Tony Cranstoun

Film Editing

Simon Elliott

Production Design

James Wakefield

Art Director

Charlotte Walter

Costume Design

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News & Interviews for I Give It a Year

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Critic Reviews for I Give It a Year

Audience Reviews for I Give It a Year

• Aug 28, 2017

  I've started out with this sentiment in a review, on Flixster, for Mindhorn. The normal quote, usually, goes: 'Pizza is a lot like sex. When it's good it's really good and when it's bad, it's still pretty good.' The reason I mention this again is simply because of the fact that, to me, a lot of British comedies (or rom-coms as is the case here) end up being pretty good even if they're amazing. I just find the Brits to have an innate ability to make enjoyable comedies. Or maybe I just enjoy that sense of humor more and that might cloud my judgment. It's entirely possible that it's the latter. But that's neither here nor there. The last two times (this included) I've brought this up has been for a movie that, while not without its moments, is inherently flawed. I will say this right now, the concept for this movie certainly has the potential to bring about a lot of cool moments that subvert normal rom-com tropes. It's a rom-com that, literally, plays out in reverse. I don't mean it plays out like Memento, where the end is the beginning and vice versa. I just mean that it's a movie about our two leads, who got married after only seven months together, realizing that they are not in love with each other. I don't wanna say it's like The Break-Up, but it's the closest comparison point. Moving on, however. As I mentioned, this movie had so much goddamn potential to be great. The question now is, did the film live up to that potential? If you couldn't tell by the rating prior to reading this then I don't know what is actually wrong with you. Anyway, the answer to that question is an unequivocal no. And you don't know how much it disappoints me. I always applaud originality in whatever film that may have some, but I've felt that, for the most part, rom-coms are usually behind the pack when it comes to subverting their many tropes. This film had the potential to do that, as if I hadn't made that clear already and, yet, THIS is the movie we got. I don't know where to really begin. I like the idea behind this, it's a deconstruction of the romantic comedy and yet it falls apart almost immediately after it starts. It looks at this overzealous couple that got married before they really got to know each other. Again, all fine. The problem is the fact that, really, for the most part, the leads are really unlikable. You can make this type of movie where it looks at the difficulties of marriage without making the leads look like such assholes for picking arguments about small shit. In a film like this, I think it's key for you to, at the very least, relate to the characters. You're supposed to be with them as they realize that they got married to the wrong person all the while the right person is available to them. That's problem one. Second problem is the fact this movie is never as funny as it probably should be given how the comedic scenes play. The comedy in this movie, I'm certain, read better on paper than they played out on screen. Maybe they were never that funny to begin with, who knows? But I just found the movie to be completely inconsistent when it came to laughs. That's not to say that it is without its moments. This will certainly have spoilers, but the climactic scene of Josh going to his first anniversary dinner with Nat to ask her for a divorce her plays out like a marriage proposal would play out in these films. It's actually one of the very few legitimately funny scenes in the entire movie. The casting isn't the problem here. I think Rafe Spall and Rose Byrne are perfectly mismatched. They've got an antagonistic chemistry with each other and that's precisely what the film required. Perhaps they didn't hate each other as much as Minnie Driver and Jason Flemyng's characters did (they're another one of the highlights), but their dislike for one another felt genuine. The supporting cast is strong, Simon Baker is charming and Anna Faris is always great. So, again, the problems I have with this film are completely unrelated to the casting. It's all about the writing. Unlikable characters, general lack of truly memorable comedic scenes and a lot of dead air in between those "comedic" scenes. All of that holds this movie back tremendously. It's not what I would call a truly terrible movie, it's certainly watchable thanks to the actors and a few memorable scenes. It's disappointing more than anything else. I was able to get through this without much problem and, I'm guessing, so would most of you. Still, I can't avoid thinking what could have been if this film was actually more consistent and considerably better written. This is ok, at best and maybe I'm being generous when I say that.

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  jesse o Super Reviewer
• Jan 15, 2014

  Bland and uninspired, I Give It A Year is a rote and stereotypical romantic comedy. Newlyweds Josh and Natasha have their love tested as they discover eccentricities about each other during the course of their first year of marriage, leading them to question whether or not they'll be able to make it work. Featuring Rose Byrne, Simon Baker, and Anna Faris, the cast is fairly solid. However, the writing is especially poor, and all of the jokes and plot turns can be seen coming from a mile away. I Give It A Year delivers a few laughs, but it's just too predictable.

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  Super Reviewer
• Dec 13, 2013

  British humor cracks me up, and I Give it a Year does an excellent job with dry, tough to take comedy that leaves you squirming in your seat but ultimately laughing out loud. Rose Byrne is the female lead, and after her brief bit of comedy in Bridesmaids, she has a nice follow up here. The bangs don't work, though. As for Anna Faris as the secondary, she's the essential girl you'd want to be your girl friend. I think she's hilarious. Rafe Spall, known by Americans for some of his work in Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz comes off as a decent male lead. Most of his comedy is more goofy shenanigans than verbiage. I've never seen Simon Baker in anything but the Mentalist, but he's got a decent presence on camera enough to carry his weight. The plot is thin. It's definitely anti rom-com, but it also carries a rom-com script with it. If anyone has ever watched a Ricky Gervais comedy show or Stephen Merchant's new Hello Ladies on HBO, the scenes with disturb you, make you uncomfortable and give you jitters, but you'll be full of laughs and chuckles as it breezes by in a nice 90 minutes.

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  Super Reviewer
• Dec 03, 2013

  A solid twist on the rom-com genre. Very good romantic comedy! This was just a breath of fresh air. It's a funny, witty, exquisitely entertaining, and has something for men and women to enjoy. The situations the characters find themselves in seem entirely natural and not forced which only makes them funnier and everyone done a really good job comically. I Give It a Year also concludes in a perfect way and one that stays true to the same awkward, sardonic tone the rest of the film adopts. To say it slaps in the face every film that wraps up with someone literally running to the airport last minute to proclaim their eternal love would be an understatement. A closer approximation would be that it puts those offerings in a sleeper hold and squeezes out every ounce of maddening cliché. It's satisfying, funny and refreshingly direct. This act is preceded by what is also one of the best "reunion" speeches I've ever heard. I won't spoil anything as to how it unfurls but it too is cooling in its candidness. Newlywed couple Nat and Josh are deliriously happy despite their differences, though friends and family aren't convinced that they can last. With their first anniversary approaching and attractive alternatives in the mix, can they last?

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  Super Reviewer