Better than expected!...

Rating: 8/10 (11 November 2012)

I actually found it quite engaging eventually; it was a little hard to get into at first but when the narrative began to settle down I could see a structure there that had potential. Brief summary: When Emily Weaver (Julianne Moore) announces to her husband Cal (Steve Carell) that she wants a divorce, his world collapses around him. She had slept with another man, David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon) and Cal finds that hard to take since they had been together since high school. He takes to going to bars to drown his sorrows and is taken under the wing of Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling) who shows him how to dress, behave and (most importantly) how to pick up women. At this he is quite successful (eventually) but he feels there is still something missing. Meanwhile there are a couple of other sub-plots going on. One involves Cal's son, Robbie (Jonah Bobo), who has become infatuated with his babysitter, Jessica (Analeigh Tipton). She, meanwhile is holding a torch for Cal With me so far?... Also, there is law student, Hannah (Emma Stone) who Jacob had been unsuccessful in picking up when we first meet him (I can't really say any more about her without giving too much away, so here I'll stop). All these threads eventually tie together in what (at times) appears like a French farce, but which does ultimately have a very valid point.
All the performances were very good with Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Julianne Moore taking centre stage. I thought Kevin Bacon was slightly underused, and more could have been made of Emma Stone's character. Over all, it's pretty well made but the narrative does tend to wander in places. An endearing film that does have quite a strong message about love and about soul mates. I freely admit this old romantic found it quite relatable.
SteelMonster's verdict: RECOMMENDED
My score: 7.5/10
You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.