Man Up, film review: More soppy British sitcom than genuine screwball

(15) Ben Palmer, 92 mins. Starring: Simon Pegg, Lake Bell

Playing the straight man: Simon Pegg in 'Man Up' (PicSelect)

When it comes to playing sad, British singleton-types in their mid-30s, US actresses seem to do it better than our own home-grown talent. Following on from Renée Zellweger in the Bridget Jones films, US actress Lake Bell (director and star of In a World...) plays the lovelorn heroine in this spirited, if very predictable romcom.

The plotting is formulaic – Nancy (Bell) meets Jack (Simon Pegg) at Waterloo Station on a blind date intended for someone else. They hit it off, quote their favourite lines from Wall Street and Silence of the Lambs to one another and go boozing and ten-pin bowling together, but then the doubts set in.

It is Bell's film – she is sassy, cynical, funny, occasionally self-pitying and gets most of the best lines. Pegg is the straight man to her fiery comedienne. They make an engaging couple with a very effective comic rapport but the film itself is more soppy British sitcom than genuine screwball. It is never quite as anarchic as it should have been.