As comedies go, I think this is probably one of the better ones you will see this year.
Steve Carell plays Cal, a husband who splits from his high school sweetheart, played by Julianne Moore, after she cheats. Hanging out in single bars every nights he sees this ladies man played by Ryan Gosling successfully pick up numerous women, while he says out loud to anyone who will listen, 'my wife cheated on me with xxxx.'
Meanwhile his teenage son has the hots for his babysitter, while the babysitter crushes on Cal. We have 4 romantic triangles between the main characters, that are developed to great comic effect.
So, Ryan Gosling's character takes him under his wing, as his wing man, and shows him how to score with the ladies, which leads to many interesting twists and turns.
There were several parts of this movie that made me cringe, one was the patheticness of the character played by Steve Carell. The teenage crush made me cringe a little, especially with the absurd things this kid did to get her attention.
In fairness this was more than balanced with some high quality scenes and interactions, particularly the scenes with Marisa Tomei, who I thought was absolutely brilliant, especially when her simmering emotions boil over at the parent teacher meeting.
The Dirty Dancing routine between Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone was simply movie magic, and one of the best scenes I have seen all year, two quality actors, chemistry, everything, perfect.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Ryan Gosling may be one the best actors on the planet. You probably know him from The Notebook, a perennial top 100 rental on leading dvd rental sites. He has studously avoided the mainstream doing indie and art house movies. Watching his performance in
Blue Valentine with Michelle Williams convinced me of his greatness, with some reminders of a young DeNiro, without the psychotic overtones, or even perhaps Sean Penn, the most respected actor among his peers.
The proof may not be out there yet, and I am so glad to see him to see him in a mainstream movie. I hope that he will continue to make critically acclaimed movies and also more widely seen movies, and that he will get both the recognition, and ultimately the accolades he deserves.
Emma Stone, what can you say, she is the best of the young actresses who has emerged over the last two years, outstanding in
Easy A, and now the lead in The Help, for which she may get an Oscar nom.
I hope this was helpful, and I think the movie is worth seeing.
