It seems to me that rom-coms, by definition of the genre, have a searching-for-love theme. I wonder if this rom-com has an additional theme of identity, or how insecure we are in the way we want others to see ourself? For example, maybe Nancy wants to be the triathlete Jessica, but bowling is more her speed. Scott, as you mentioned in a previous post, the plot can be marked by how the leads change identities. To this end, maybe the meaning is just be who you are, and love will find you? Just a guess. Does this seem reasonable?

David, I think this theme of identity is central to almost EVERY movie. Indeed I wrote this post using trailers from two Star Wars movies to make that precise point: Who are you? What will you become? Those are existential questions and even as 'heavy' as they appear, we see them play throughout in a lighthearted romantic comedy like Man Up. Nancy quite literally assumes another person's identity to 'try it on'. In it, she deconstructs her old identity, freed up to try on Jessica for awhile, then once her lie is exposed, she reconstructs into a more honest, even self-assured version of herself. That's why that 2nd half of Act Two is so critical, so she and Jack can strip bare their inhibitions and self-deceit (remember, Jack has some lies going on as well), then while being honest with each other find authentic points of emotional connection. By the end, they both realize what they had lost when they were separated, so when they reunite, we actually buy the authenticity of their feelings for each other. And ALL of that is about self-identity and metamorphosis. More generally speaking, all Protagonists who go through a transformation process begin stories living a kind of lie. As J. Campbell says, "The hero is just making do... they need to change." Psychologically they are not in touch with some key authentic part of their psyche and it's THAT -- their Need -- which emerges through their physical journey in the Plotline. By the end of most movies - with happy endings - they come to know and embrace their Core Essence / True Nature and move from Disunity to Unity. The beauty of Man Up is that it takes that idea of living a lie, which people typically do in small measure on a daily basis, and compresses it into one crazy night. So we, as an audience member, get to ask, "What if I could take on the persona of someone else? Who would I be?" Again playing with identity. Re your question about "love will find you": That is specific to movies with a romantic dynamic at play, in effect the 'sealed with a kiss ending' the 'boon' (as J. Campbell would put it) for the characters going through their transformation journeys.