Five-Year Engagement Performing Poorly, Should Jason Segel Give Up Writing?

Early box office numbers have started trickling in, and it seems Jason Segel’s newest project The Five-Year Engagement isn’t exactly the biggest hit with fans. The former Freaks And Geeks star’s previous two writing/ starring vehicles Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The Muppets
both did more than one hundred million dollars in worldwide business,
but with projections putting his latest endeavor at barely ten million
for its opening weekend, it's unlikely this newest effort will see
anywhere close to that.



Unfortunately for Segel, critics, long champions of the actor, weren’t blown away either. The Five-Year Engagement
hasn’t exactly been trashed by critics, but most reviews have been
tepid at best, nearly all pointing out its runtime drags a bit. While I
would somewhat agree with that criticism, I still found the movie
endearing and funny, and I’m a bit puzzled by the widespread lack of
interest. Segel, both on his television show and in his films, has
really had a way of connecting with audiences, and Emily Blunt, a rising
star in her own right, projected to be the perfect woman to start
opposite him.



Segel may have a habit of trying to fit over complex stories into longer
runtimes, especially for comedies, but I truly think his perspective
deserves to be out there. His characters always have a mix of humanity
and wit about them. I would be very disappointed if The Five-Year Engagement’s
failure to rake in money harms studios’ willingness to give him
creative control in the future, but given these poor receipts, I’m a bit
worried.



What do you think? Should Jason Segel continue to write and star in his
own movies or would he be better served by giving up some control? Let
us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…