Not as good as it should be yet better than it could have been

Rating: 7/10 (17 February 2017)

I am a big fan of the rare flower that is the original rom-com. Crazy,Stupid,Love is such a film, and it is remarkably well-rounded with a cast that I would easily follow into much choppier waters than these.
Ryan Gosling shines as the man he naturally looks to be, Emma Stone is deliciously mature and naive at the same time. The best scenes in the film play out between these two highly-talented hotties.
The mature pairing with Steve Carrel as the boring guy who's been married too long is a trope I have seen before (by him), and while well executed it is still not enough to rise above the cliché.
The juniors in the film add an edge to the humor that is distinctly uncomfortable at times, and the scene where conflict is to be found (I'm being vague for spoiler reasons) is far too convenient and feels shoehorned in. Especially our main characters seem to step out of what they have been so far in order to push the plot forward.
This is a brilliant film in many senses, yet lags in so many others really have trouble deciding if I like it or not - it is over- stuffed and at a run-time of two hours over-long...perhaps another viewing is merited...oh JOY!