Kritiken

[Pegg is] absolutely fine here, but the movie hangs on Bell, and she wears it tremendously. A gloriously charismatic, funny, and warm presence, it's a treat to see Bell headline a picture that provides ample opportunity to charm. Man Up isn't perfect, but that's a minor detail when you're dealing with major talent. It could be love, actually.

It's a rom-com that knows it's a rom-com and can't stop talking about it. Hence the apology. Starring Lake Bell and Simon Pegg, a basically unlikeable pair, the movie is about as interesting as listening to someone talk about how much they love cheesy romantic comedies. There are a few laughs, but it's not fun or funny enough to justify its dedication to the worst aspects of the genre.

Ben Palmer's Man Up's Lake Bell and Simon Pegg are charming and well matched as a couple who fall in love over the course of an action-packed day, but a corny, heavy-handed script makes it much harder than it ought to be to care whether they wind up together. Quick-paced, quippy dialogue aims for screwball sass and sizzle, but doesn't quite hit the mark.

For viewers still waiting for the indefinitely delayed third "Bridget Jones" film, Ben Palmer's easy, breezy romantic comedy "Man Up" offers a pleasant sense of deja vu: Not only does it trail the romantic misadventures of a klutzy London singleton, but gives a deft American actress an endearing Limey makeover in the process.