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Avg. Critic Score: 62 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
15 Iffy for 15+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 83
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    A lively, original, and scattershot-hilarious ramble of a Judd Apatow production. Read full review

  • 80
    New York Daily News | Elizabeth Weitzman

    Blunt has never been more relaxed, and she and Segel have a believably warm chemistry. It's also nice to find a romantic comedy with so much respect for both its leads. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    For the most part, The Five-Year Engagement has charm and emotion. Read full review

  • 75
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Steven Rea

    It's not impossible to address grown-up issues of commitment, of responsibility, of love, and have some fun, and some profanity, while you're at it. Read full review

  • 70
    The Hollywood Reporter | John DeFore

    Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel's latest collaboration offers a more relatable rom-com scenario while generating laughs that should still satisfy "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" fans. Read full review

  • 70
    Movieline |

    The Five-Year Engagement is, for a movie in which a guy fakes an orgasm and (in a separate incident) stuffs a dead deer in his car's sunroof, very grown-up. Read full review

  • 63
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    Five-Year Engagement alternates between realistic scenes of couples bickering and broad character farce, and the two halves mesh uneasily. Read full review

  • 63
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Drags and sags at 124 minutes. Luckily, the movie never runs on sitcom empty. How could it, with a terrific cast. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    The story starts out well, then becomes contrived and goes on too long. Read full review

  • 20
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    Sometime around what I guessed to be the one-hour mark in The Five-Year Engagement, I checked my watch and honestly thought the battery had given out. Five years doesn't begin to tell the interminable tale. Read full review

View more reviews for The Five-Year Engagement on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 15+ Apatow-produced comedy mixes romance, adult humor.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that The Five-Year Engagement is a Judd Apatow-produced romantic comedy that stars Jason Segel and Emily Blunt as a couple who finds that, the longer their engagement lasts, the more potential problems they discover, and the harder it becomes for them to follow through on matrimony. There's tons of innuendo and adult sexual references, an extended sex scene with multiple positions (though no graphic nudity), a few scenes showing men naked from behind, and plenty of risque language (including "f--k," "s--t," and more). Overall, though, the tone is more "heartwarming romcom" (with a dash of bawdiness) than outright "raunchy comedy," and the film has worthwhile things to say about grown-up relationships.
  • Families can talk about how The Five-Year Engagement compares to other romantic comedies. Is it more believable than other movies? Why or why not?
  • How does it compare to other "Apatow-ian" comedies, which are generally known for being raunchy (if heartfelt)? Does it push the envelope as far? Why do so many comedies seem determined to cross as many lines as possible?
  • How does the movie portray sex? Were the sex scenes risque or funny? Do they have a point, other than to elicit laughs? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.
  • Talk about the sacrifices that people make for love. Is it unusual for a film to focus on a man who makes sacrifices for the benefit of his partner's career?
The good stuff
  • message true3 Positive messages: The movie's central message is that relationships aren't perfect, and nobody will be everything to their partner at all times. This dose of realism contradicts the dewy-eyed love that blinds many young couples on the path to matrimony, but it's important for adults to realize as their relationships evolve and mature.
  • rolemodels true2 Positive role models: Tom and Violet sometimes act childish and immature, but mostly they try to speak honestly about their feelings -- a tough but necessary part of being involved in a real partnership.
What to watch for
  • violence false2 Violence: Some heated arguments and a few accidents involving a crossbow, a cleaver, and frostbite that feature grisly images of reasonably serious injuries (though the tone is light/humorous). Some scenes feature deer hunting. One man angrily threatens another with bodily harm, chases him down the street, and then takes a few swings at him, though it's not really much of a fight.
  • sex false4 Sexy stuff: Many scenes with romantic/passionate kissing. Several others show couples engaged in sex, though there's no graphic nudity (but one extended sequence includes yelling, thrusting, and multiple positions). One male character's naked backside makes several appearances, and one cooking scene shows him wearing an apron decorated with a lifelike drawing of a nude male physique. Tom fakes an orgasm in one scene, and there's a scene in which his brother uses a carrot and sour cream to simulate the act of masturbation. Plenty of suggestive talk, including a man who says he deserves to get "super laid."
  • language false4 Language: Frequent swearing includes many uses of "s--t," "f--k," "ass," "d--k," "t-ts," "bitch," "c--t," "damn," "ass," "hell," "goddamn," and more.
  • consumerism false2 Consumerism: Several people use Apple computers, and the University of Michigan plays an key role in the film. Zingerman's, a well-known deli in the school's hometown, has a big role in the film and is mentioned by name, repeatedly, and praised in glowing terms.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Several scenes show people drinking at parties, at bars, and at other social events. A woman sometimes steels herself with a drink before difficult conversations. Some people get quite drunk on occasion and are later shown with hangovers or suffering from other problems related to overindulging.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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Exclusive Features

Cast Interviews Exclusive Cast Interviews Jason Segel and Emily Blunt talk about the secret to success, Alison Brie on tackling a British accent and Nick Stoller on the best thing about working with Segel. The Five-Year Engagment Featurette: Sisters Emily Blunt and Alison Brie talk about playing sisters in Nicholas Stoller's romantic comedy.