NOT a Generic Romantic-Comedy

Rating: 9/10 (5 December 2011)

Once I read a review where Roger Ebert mentioned how for the entire movie he sat there with a stupid grin on his face. That is similar to how I felt about Crazy, Stupid, Love. Only this had moments of outbursts of laughter, a few tears at the end, followed by an ear to ear smile.
This movie is magical in the sense it is a true over achiever, a warrior in the time of 'sloth-ness' in the world of film. It seems as though the directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa were given a script that could have been your generic Hollywood romantic-comedy and through great understanding of love and pain as well as adept skill they transformed it into something far more grandeur.
All of the performances were outstandingSteve Carell and Ryan Gosling were knockouts. Steve Carell is able to shift between his usual comedic prowess to earnest empathetic drama. Meanwhile Ryan Gosling continues to prove himself as one of the most talented actors of the neoteric age. All of the side performances were great as well. I was quite impressed with young Jonah Bobo, Emma Stone shines through with her charismatic charm that I am growing fond of, and Marisa Tomei is absolutely hilarious in this.
I went into this movie expecting another generic cliché love story, but there is so much care put into the characters here, and the concepts are fleshed out so skillfully that it is so much more than that. This movie is a contender for best movie of the year and might just be a new personal favorite of mine. Unless your heart is literally made of stone, this is a must see movie. 10/10