MovieChat Forums > The Five-Year Engagement (2012) Discussion > Three years of deli work? Taking Violet...

Three years of deli work? Taking Violet's side here


I liked this movie. I didn't mind that it was long. I enjoy movies where we watch the relationship evolve over time. Also, it was nice to see the man moving across the country for the woman's career instead of vice versa. She had a rare opportunity in another state and his chef skills were transferable.

But it's crazy, in a college town with multiple restaurants, that a talented and formerly ambitious chef would waste three years schmearing bagels. Talk about treading water.

Posters are saying Violet was a b!tch, but her soulmate had turned into a slacker. Her career was the more dependable choice at that point and she was right to let him go until he got his act together again.

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He definitely quit on life, but they weren't exactly in a position to establish their own restaurant, and we saw him try to gain employment elsewhere. Basically, he was overqualified.

I don't think Violet was a bitch at all, but she initially said 2 years, so he was basically trying to "make it work" for 2 years until he could get back to San Fran and start something more ambitious. When she got on the tenure track he just...gave up.

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That's true.

At my age now, two years go by like a week and a half, compared to when I was college age. I wouldn't even unpack the moving boxes.

But two years is a big chunk of time to blow off for a young aspiring chef who's building a resume'. Onion lady, or someone else, would have had an opening sooner or later. When he didn't find a decent job at the beginning, he decided to just stand around and kill time until they could get back to "real life." He only stayed fully committed to the plan for a few days.

Two ambitious, creative people moved to Michigan for two years. She did refuse to leave, but I think he reneged long before that.

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[deleted]

The sandwiches in this place make Food and Wine magazine. It the food is not "schmearing bagels".

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