Movie Review: 'I Give It a Year' -- 3 stars

“I Give It a Year” turns the romantic comedy on its head by utilizing a simple and effective formula. Writer-director Dan Mazer, who scripted “Borat,” crafts scene after conventional scene in this story of the whirlwind romance and marriage of Nat (Rose Byrne) and Josh (Rafe Spall) but adds a detail or twist that subverts them.

For example, there’s a romantic divorce proposal. We’re given a tender seduction moment in a corporate boardroom that’s accompanied by panicked doves dive bombing the woman in question. Josh goes on a romantic shopping trip to a lingerie store for Nat, accompanied by ex-girlfriend Chloe (Anna Faris).

Of course, this makes the film sound like a Zucker parody (“The Naked Gun”), when it’s actually a heartfelt story with wacky fringes. It’s about two people who rush into a wedding, discover they’ve been hasty and do everything possible to fix what might not be fixable.

It’s not great cinema. But sporting a cast of fine actors with great comic timing (Simon Baker, Minnie Driver, Olivia Colman and Stephen Merchant are among the supporting players) and a screenplay that seamlessly blends cringe-worthy bawdy humor and affecting drama, “I Give It a Year” is a lot of fun.