“Man Up” Is This Year’s Sleeper — No Pun Intended

This year’s sleeper, no pun intended, turns out to be the British romantic comedy Man Up, which Variety called a pleasant trip down memory lane — at least for those waiting for a follow up to the second “Bridget Jones” film.

I’m not particularly champing at the bit waiting for the third “Bridget Jones” comedy. I was hoping for better and Man Up, even with an odd title, is scoring on many fronts.

Simon Pegg plays Jack and Lake Bell plays Nancy, the pair who meet in a moment of mistaken identity. Jack is expecting a blind date — but with Nancy’s friend, whom Jack is supposed to recognize because of the book she is carrying. Unwittingly, Nancy is holding that very book when she stumbles into Jack at a train station.

The comedy, which was released in Britain ages and ages ago (in May) has come across the Atlantic Ocean slower than a British musical. But now that it’s out, Rotten Tomatoes has given it an approval rating of 84, giving it a 20 point spread above and beyond the recent Britain-based spy thriller Spectre, featuring Daniel Craig as 007, which earned a 64 rating.

Between Pegg’s quick wit and quirky personality fits Bell, who is being hailed as the queen of dorkiness. He’s a pleasant, optimistic bloke working in a nondescript job, while she’s a … well, an emotional dork.

How can you go wrong with that?

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