Click here!

Five-Year Engagement, The (15)

Five-Year Engagement, The (15)

Comedy, Romance

One year after meeting, Tom proposes to his girlfriend, Violet, but unexpected events keep tripping them up as they look to walk down the aisle together.

More information on this production is available at www.fiveyearengagement.co.uk.

The critical consensus

It’s a shame that one of the few decent rom-coms in recent memory should lack enough comedy to balance out the unexpectedly truthful treatment of romance.

***(*)(*)Eddie Harrison, The List, 12/06/2012

What The Five-Year Engagement lacks in belly laughs it makes up for in heart and soul, successfully exploring the genuine greys of a relationship instead of painting them black and white.

***(*)(*)Tony Horkins, Total Film, 13/06/2012

A five-year engagement? It felt much longer.

Siobhan Synnot, The Scotsman, 17/06/2012

Another solid hit from Planet Apatow — charming, funny and remarkably in tune with real life.

****(*)Simon Braund, Empire Online, 20/06/2012

It’s way too long, but it’s the good stuff that ultimately lingers.

***(*)(*)Alistair Harkness, The Scotsman, 21/06/2012

Some of the ensuing comedy feels stretched over the bloated two-hour-plus running time, but Segel and Blunt are engaging. What's more, the film strives to be emotionally true and you'll squirm as well as laugh.

***(*)(*)Rob Carnevale, The Herald, 21/06/2012

It’s honest, mature and insightful but also fun, silly and touchingly romantic.

****(*)Henry Fitzherbert, Daily Express, 21/06/2012

Segel and Stoller could – no, should have been bolder: their leading lady deserves it.

**(*)(*)(*)Robbie Collin, The Telegraph, 21/06/2012

Jason Segel and Emily Blunt's procrastinating couple have to deal with actual real-world problems in that rarest of things: a decent romcom.

****(*)Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 21/06/2012

It feels more like ten.

**(*)(*)(*)Chris Tookey, Daily Mail, 22/06/2012

Feelings of wistfulness, of frustration and disappointment, underlie the comedy of this long engagement, and it's a mark of the nuanced script and performances that the outcome actually begins to matter to us.

****(*)Anthony Quinn, The Independent, 22/06/2012

Although the film flirts with the usual rom-com clichés, the chemistry between the two stars is palpable, there are plenty of belly laughs and Tom and Violet never feel less than real.

****(*)David Edwards, Daily Record, 22/06/2012

It’s not one that you’d need to see again and again, but it does leave a very sweet taste in the mouth.

David Jenkins, Little White Lies, 21/06/2012

Offers plenty of chuckles – although not enough to justify the middle-aged spread of its two-hour running time.

Mark Kermode, The Observer, 24/06/2012

Like a buffet – you can dip in and out and it never seems to end.

***(*)(*)Jonathan Romney, The Independent, 24/06/2012

The film gets a tad saggy in the final third; it may have benefited from being The Three-Year Engagement. But it's hard to be too strict when it has such smarts.

Demetrios Matheou, Sunday Herald, 24/06/2012

Where and when?

General release. Check local listings for show times.

Comments: 0 (Add)

To post a comment, you need to sign in or register. Forgotten password? Click here.

Find a show


Search the site


Find us on …

Find us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterFind us on YouTube

Click here!