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A ‘Love’ fest with stars Rudd and Segel
Paul Rudd and Jason Segel are the kind of co-stars who easily fall into a rhythm with each other on-screen and off. And they’re the kind of actors who offer you bacon on a Saturday morning.
They need to eat, of course. It’s the day after the premiere of their new bromance comedy, “I Love You, Man,”kicked off the South by Southwest Film Festival. They’ll be on a plane out of Austin in the afternoon, but not before rounds of interviews and a panel appearance.
“Are you sure you don’t want some?” asks an apologetic Rudd, pointing to his plate, and soon, he and Segel delve into a short back-and-forth over real versus turkey bacon. Real bacon wins.
It’s a golden time for these two actors. Witness the wildly approving audience reception to their new movie the previous night. And, on its April cover, Vanity Fair has declared them, along with fellow Judd Apatow collaborators Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen, “Comedy’s New Legends.”
So how are they and their comedic conspirators enjoying this wave of acceptance, praise and love that started five years ago with Apatow’s “Anchorman” and just kept building with “40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up” and last year’s “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”?
“It’s a little scary,’ says Segel.
“Here comes the fall,” counters Rudd only slightly grimly.
Although it seems unlikely now, that pragmatic observation makes sense. Hollywood builds you up just to knock you down — isn’t the crash of such a huge wave inevitable?
Adding to this, says Segel, is that “what drove Judd and the rest of us was the sense of our always being the underdog,” he says, pointing back to “Freaks and Geeks”and “Undeclared.” (ABC dropped the ax on “Freaks,” the 1999 sitcom produced by Apatow and starring Segel and Rogen, halfway through its first season. Two years later, their next TV project, “Undeclared” met the same fate on Fox).
“It was us against the world,” says Segel, now a co-star in the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” and writer and star of last year’s well-received “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” “It’s a scary feeling for sure to be where we are now.”
The ensemble approach that led to their success today also brings with it an intense responsibility to keep it going for the sake of everyone in their extended comedic clan.
“No one wants to be the iceberg that sinks the Titanic,” deadpans Rudd.
It’s hard to imagine a disaster in their near future, especially after the early reaction to “I Love You, Man,” a movie directed and co-written by John Hamburg (“Meet the Parents” and the underrated but brilliant “Safe Men”).
The comedy boldly examines the inner workings of those mysterious male friendships, complete with Rush-inspired jam sessions and all. The script deftly taps into stereotypes as well as surprises, all made even funnier by the cast’s improvisation, encouraged by Hamburg.
“It’s fulfilling creatively to improvise,” says Rudd. “You’re really collaborating, which makes the day so much fun.”
Being longtime friends was an obvious boon for two actors playing best buds, but it had its drawbacks. Hamburg wanted them to improvise their first “man date”— an evening of fish tacos and drinks — but Segal says an hour into their riffing, Hamburg had to reel them in.
“He had to remind us that this was the first time our characters had really talked,” Segel says.
Rudd and Segel’s affable chemistry is undeniable, but it was also there between Rudd and actress Rashida Jones, who plays his fiancee.
“We’ve been great friends for many years,” says Rudd of Jones (“The Office,” the upcoming NBC sitcom “Parks & Recreation” and daughter of SXSW Music keynote speaker Quincy Jones). “I love her. I was so excited that she was doing the movie.”
But Rudd and Segel were both somewhat nervous to work with other castmembers — namely, the gentlemen of the legendary prog-rock group Rush.
“They’re so mysterious,” says Rudd, who was worried Geddy Lee and company would get tired of playing “Limelight” 40 takes in a row.
If anyone knows what that was like, it was Rudd and Segel, who had to film their hysterical “Tom Sawyer’ cover over two 14-hour days.
“’Tom Sawyer’ still haunts me a tiny bit,” says Segel.
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