The completely random rivalry between Jason Segel and Paul Rudd’s characters in Knocked Up were one of the best parts of the movie for me. They’ve both been criminally underused by everyone but Judd Apatow for years now, and seeing them both get prominent parts in one of the summer’s biggest movies just warmed my little heart.

Of course, now that someone other than Judd Apatow is casting them, I’m actually a little sad to see it happen. The two will team up again in I Love You Man, a comedy written and directed by John Hamburg, the guy who gave the world Along Came Polly. Rudd will play a man about to get married who has to seek out a new best friend to serve as his best man; presumably Segel’s character will be the one to come to the rescue.

The name “John Hamburg” immediately set off warning bells in my mind, as it should for anyone, but I checked the list of producers to see if this project had an Apatow blessing. And, uh, no. However, the guy did direct three episodes of Undeclared, which is a good sign. On another hand, if he worked on Undeclared, wouldn’t he be producing his movie with Apatow now that the man knows how to turn out nothing but hits? And finally, Hamburg, wrote a handful of very funny Ben Stiller movies (Zoolander, Meet the Parents), but he also gave us Meet the Fockers. This is kind of the definition of a mixed bag.

Segel and Rudd are pretty much always worth watching, but that doesn’t mean I would ever run out to see them in somethimg no matter what (The Object of My Affection, anyone?), I guess the best I can ask is “Please, John Hamburg, be talented even though you’ve made bad movies, and don’t ruin these guys for me. They deserve their time to be actual leading men, so don’t tak it away from them!