O-M-G! A sappy comedy that even works for the male audience

Rating: 8/10 (1 August 2011)

I can't even remember the last time Steve Carell was actually in a good movie. In the past decade he's been in a lot of "hit or miss" type flicks. Emphasis on the "miss" with movies like Dinner for Schmucks, Date Night, Get Smart, Dan in Real Life, and especially Evan Almighty. Don't get me wrong, I still laughed, just didn't enjoy the cinema. The 40 Year Old Virgin and Little Miss Sunshine were the only true Carell flicks that I enjoyed in roundabout way.
With that being said, 2011 brings us Crazy, Stupid, Love. A quaint little rom-com flick under the direction of duo Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who came together once again after their tag team direction of R- rated rom-com I Love You Phillip Morris. Being released two years apart, their movie direction definitely improved.
On to the movie review itself.
Crazy, Stupid, Love begins with the divorce dinner of two of the main characters, Steve Carell's Cal and Julianne Moore's Emily. Cal is immediately deemed by the audience be the "loser" or "40 Year Old Virgin" type character he does so well. Even a little bit of Michael Scott from NBC's The Office can be felt. I was definitely excited at this point and the movie just started!
The next scene introduces us to Cal's 13-year-old son, Robbie, played by Jonah Bobo. For being only an age older in real life, I thought little Jonah Bobo did a spectacular job. Immediately we see that he is madly in love with his 17-year-old babysitter, Jessica, played by Analeigh Tipton. This situation alone fuels some of the comedy.
The casting really does add so much more appeal to this film. Details ahead. I was also surprised to witness how funny a PG-13 rated movie really could be, while maintaining a classy feel. No raunchy comedy here. No "F-bombs" here. No slap-stick. Sure, the characters cheat and seem to be angry at times, but they understand their mistakes.
We figure out that Emily is fooling around with a guy at work played by Kevin Bacon. Interestingly funny is Bacon.
After Cal finds himself completely depressed by the thought of his divorce, he sobs at a local cocktail bar. Here he overhears, thus finding Ryan Gosling's character, Jacob, who is undoubtedly the complete ladies' man. Even actor Ryan Reynolds admits his abs to be more superior than his own. Ryan Gosling is the superior actor as well. Really enjoyed his performance.
From here Jacob agrees to help Cal make the most of himself and teaches him the way of the "Ladies' Man." That's when the movie really begins. The humor that perspires from the interaction of Cal and the women at the bar was delightful.
The movie does slow down towards the middle with cliché montages, but seemingly picks itself up.
Eventually Cal finds himself a real catch in the form of Marisa Tomei's character named Kate. While this is going on, Jacob, the man who taught Cal how to score all those girls, falls in love with Emma Stone's character, Hannah. Cal is not happy about that.
Without giving away too much of the plot, I will say that I really enjoyed all of the O-M-G worthy plot-twists that took place. You'll just have to see for yourself. Take a date.
8/10 Stars.