The Five-Year Engagement is a 2012 American romantic comedy film written by, directed by, and produced by Nicholas Stoller. It was produced in collaboration with Judd Apatow and Rodney Rothman, and co-written by Jason Segel, who also stars in the film with Emily Blunt as a couple whose relationship becomes difficult as their engagement is repeatedly postponed. The film was released in North America on April 27, 2012. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and earned $54.2 million worldwide, with a budget of $30 million.

Plot

In San Francisco, sous-chef Tom and PhD graduate Violet are engaged. Their wedding plans change when Tom's best friend Alex gets Violet's sister Suzie pregnant at their engagement party, and Alex and Suzie quickly marry.

When Violet is accepted into the University of Michigan's two-year advanced psychology program, Tom agrees to move with her and delay their wedding. Later, he learns his boss plans to make him head chef.

Unable to find a chef job in Michigan, Tom works at Zingerman's deli and starts hunting with Bill, a fellow university faculty spouse. Violet begins her new job under professor Winton Childs, working with Doug, Ming, and Vaneetha.

A joke leads Violet to lead a research project studying people who choose to eat stale donuts instead of waiting for fresh ones. Tom and Violet's wedding is delayed again when Winton receives funding from the National Institutes of Health with Violet's help, extending her program. Tom is upset, and he and Violet argue about his unhappiness with their new life.

As years pass, Tom becomes unhappy and focuses more on hunting. Alex, Suzie, and their daughter Vanessa visit, and Suzie reveals she is pregnant again. Tom says he no longer wants to have a child, surprising Violet, who offers to care for Vanessa with him. However, the visit ends in disaster when Vanessa accidentally shoots Violet with Tom's crossbow.

Tom's unhappiness becomes clear when Violet sees him eat a stale donut. At a bar, Violet and Winton kiss after drinking, which Violet regrets. She tells Tom she wants to plan their wedding immediately, and he agrees. When Violet confesses about the kiss, Tom loses trust in their relationship. This reaches a peak when Winton arrives at their rehearsal dinner to apologize.

Tom chases Winton away and goes to drink alone. He meets Margaret, a co-worker, but chooses not to have sex with her. He wakes up half-naked in the snow with a frozen toe, which is removed. Violet visits Tom in the hospital, and they end their engagement after returning home.

Violet starts a relationship with Winton but often thinks about Tom. Tom sends Violet a birthday message with a video of Ming's strange experiment on his friend Tarquin. Violet calls Tom, who has returned to San Francisco, working as a sous-chef under Alex and dating the hostess, Audrey. Their conversation turns awkward as they argue about Violet's donut experiment as a metaphor for their relationship, and they both end the call upset.

Realizing Tom is unhappy, Alex fires him out of kindness, saying Tom is a better chef and should start his own business. Tom opens a popular taco truck.

Violet gets a job as an assistant professor but learns she was hired because she is dating Winton. She breaks up with him. After lunch with his parents, Tom decides to win Violet back and ends his relationship with Audrey. He surprises Violet at her grandmother's funeral in England, and they agree to spend the summer together in San Francisco, rekindling their relationship while sharing an apartment and working in the taco truck.

Driving Violet to the airport, Tom offers to take his truck to Michigan to continue their relationship. Violet proposes to Tom at the side of the road, just as he did five years earlier. Tom produces the ring he originally gave her, explaining he planned to re-propose at the airport.

They go to Alamo Square, where Violet has gathered their family and friends for an unexpected wedding. Tom chooses options for the officiant, clothing, and music, and they finally marry.

Tom and Violet share their first kiss as a married couple, and the film shows a flashback to their first kiss when they met at a New Year's Eve party. Alex and Suzie sing "Cucurrucucú paloma" on a carriage ride with the newlyweds.

Production

Some parts of the movie happen in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Scenes were shot there and in the nearby city of Ypsilanti in June 2011.

Music

"The Five Year Engagement: Music From The Motion Picture" is the music from the movie. It was released on April 17, 2012, with Michael Andrews as the composer and Jonathan Karp as the Music Supervisor.

Release

The movie The Five-Year Engagement was released in the United States and Canada on April 27, 2012. It was shown in other important countries from May to July 2012.

Reception

In the United States and Canada, The Five-Year Engagement earned $28.8 million, with an additional $25.3 million from other countries, for a total worldwide income of $54.2 million. This amount was made against a budget of $30 million. The film opened at No. 5 on the box office chart and remained in the Top 10 for three consecutive weekends in the United States.

On the review website Rotten Tomatoes, 64% of 177 critic reviews were positive, with an average score of 6.2 out of 10. The site’s summary states: "Although the film is long, it benefits from the natural chemistry between its main actors and a humorous, romantic story that shows depth and intelligence." Metacritic, which calculates scores using a weighted average, gave the film a score of 62 out of 100 based on 38 critics, showing "generally favorable" opinions.

Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B+ grade and described it as "A lively, original, and often hilarious Judd Apatow production." Elizabeth Weitzman of New York Daily News wrote: "Blunt is more relaxed than ever, and she and Segel share believable, warm chemistry." Richard Roeper also gave the film a B+ grade, noting that it features "a winning cast in an uneven but often brilliant and unusual comedy."