Man Up is a classic romantic comedy about two people who are too old, too wise, too jaded for classic romantic comedies, and that's precisely why it works.

| Jun 14, 2017

Bell and Pegg are utterly defeated by a screenplay that favours plot over characterization to an almost surreal, parodic degree.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Nov 20, 2015

Both actors stay sharp through some pretty degrading moments, and if Palmer and screenwriter Tess Morris are bent on serious button-pushing in the closing scenes, at least they garnish it with playfulness and wit.

| Nov 19, 2015

Man Up has a couple of bits that don't quite work and the ending is just silly, but for the most part, Pegg and Bell carry this thing through sheer force of personality.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 19, 2015

Aside from the silly title and disappointingly pat ending, even the rom-com-averse will find something to love about Man Up.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 19, 2015

Bell and Pegg, both terrific comic actors, mine small gestures and reactions for laughs. But they're at their best when they're talking, and they talk a lot in "Man Up."

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Nov 19, 2015

There are enough twists, turns and strange little bumps in the road to make this well-traveled journey to romantic comedy bliss surprisingly worthwhile.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 13, 2015

A lot more fun than many heftier, supposed rom-coms, thanks to the timing and chemistry of its leads.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 13, 2015

With a lot of help from Bell and Pegg, the movie cheerfully suggests it's possible to stage a lighthearted romance without dropping off your brain beforehand.

| Nov 13, 2015

"Man Up" ... has just enough edge to distinguish it from a Lifetime movie. It also has Lake Bell and Simon Pegg, versatile and likable actors who help the mild story considerably.

| Nov 12, 2015

From start to almost finish, "Man Up", directed by Ben Palmer from a terrific script by Tess Morris, sustains a remarkably high level of verbal invention.

| Nov 12, 2015

Rather than aim for uproarious, it constantly settles for amusing.

| Original Score: B- | 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.

| Nov 11, 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.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Nov 9, 2015

A scatty screwball comedy that, despite a familiar narrative structure, provides its full quota of laughs and romance.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Nov 6, 2015

A smug, manic London comedy that feels as if it's come several years too late to the Richard Curtis party.

| Original Score: 1/5 | May 31, 2015

Man Up isn't perfect, but that's a minor detail when you're dealing with major talent. It could be love, actually.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 29, 2015

Time and again, Man Up is saved by Bell.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 28, 2015

It is Bell's film -- she is sassy, cynical, funny, occasionally self-pitying and gets most of the best lines.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 28, 2015

[Lake Bell] steals the show with her rubbery, expressive face, penchant for self-humiliation and believable English accent.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 28, 2015