I Love You, Man

The script started life as Let’s Be Friends by Larry Levin and sat unused for roughly 11 years after it was bought. John Hamburg turned it down more than once, then took it when his own friends moved to Los Angeles and he found himself trying to make new ones, and he rewrote it. Hamburg says his version was built for an adult certificate from the start: he wanted to talk plainly about sex, and the Sydney character could not live in a milder world. The BBFC gives strong language and sex references as its reason for a 15. Rush appears as itself. Hamburg was a fan, and the shoot was fitted into the one free day between two dates on the tour. The joke outlived the film: Paul Rudd and Jason Segel appeared in character in videos closing Rush concerts across 2010 and 2011, and in August 2013 Rudd conducted the string section during YYZ. The film was nominated at the 21st GLAAD Media Awards in the wide release category. A good fit if you want Rush used as the shared language between two men rather than as a prop for a gag. Not for anyone skipping the language and sex references in that certificate; Hamburg says he wrote it that way on purpose.