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Hi, this is Dana Steven Slate's movie critic here with the Slate's Spoiler Special Podcast on the five-year engagement, the new Jason Segal, Emily Blunt, romantic comedy. And here with me to talk about the five-year engagement is Pamela Paul. Hi, Pamela. Hey. You are an editor at the New York Times Book Review and also a favorite spoiler companion to mine. And especially on movies like this, for some reason, I always, I'm sorry to tell you, want you in tow when I see a slightly dopey romantic comedy, because I know

you're always going to have things to say about it. And this movie in particular, we came out of it last

night. I don't think either of us loved it, but you were saying, oh, there's coming because I feel like I've seen this movie where it's equivalent 10 times in the past two years.

We see a lot of end of trend stories together, films together, don't we?

You mean like the last dying gas.

Exactly, right.

Because the last thing we saw together and spoiled, I believe, was that horrible, horrible Jason Bateman, who else was in it, Ryan Reynolds' body switch comedy, right? Did I see that with you? Yes.

Which I've just blotted out all memory of because it was so bad.

Last Jason Bateman rom-com for a while.

But do you really think that this is going to be the end of an era? So this is, let's sort of specify what era or what genre we're talking about right here, or subgenre of romantic comedy. It's the, it's the Jason Segal co-written and Jason Segal starring, sort of somewhat formless and sweet romantic comedy, right?

So forgetting Sarah Marshall is one of these as well. Get him to the Greek is one of them as well.

Right. It's sort of like soft Judd Apatow, really. You know, it's sort of Jed Apatow without

the huge gross out. It's the, you know, Jason sort of Judd Apatow without the huge gross out it's the you know Jason

Siegel I feel like is like the girlish or like the less the girl friendly Judd Apato star don't you

as opposed to Seth Rogan you mean who's a little bit like more more alienating exactly women

although I happen to still have a soft spot for

Seth Rogen. Anyway, okay, so the five-year engagement, let's get through. It's really sort of all in

the title, but let's get through a really quick thumbnail plot synopsis, and then we can get

to some spoiling and some analysis. So Jason Siegel and Emily Blunt play this couple who, as

the movie begins, are getting engaged and looking back at the New Year's

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