A snarky charmer

Rating: 8/10 (26 December 2011)

If you don't mind the use of cutesy coincidences to drive a plot, this entertaining film just might charm your socks off. True to its title, this movie examines the various crazy, stupid, and downright inexplicable aspects of love—and the love in this film flows freely: love lost between an endearing shlub (Steve Carrell) and his wife of 25 years (the always amazing Julianne Moore); love-as-lust as practiced by a hot young lothario (Ryan Gosling, perfectly cast); love avoided by an idealistic young lawyer-to-be (Emma Stone, in another role as the thinking man's hot chick); and unrequited love as only teenagers can experience it (Carrell's 13 year-old son, who just knows that his 17 year-old babysitter is his "soulmate" and said babysitter, who has a mad crush on Carrell). The plot here isn't the point anyway—except for one pitch-perfect scene in which Gosling and Stone lie in bed together and experience the true intimacy of really getting to know—and "click" with—another person. The plot twists might be a bit contrived, but this film has its heart in the right place. If this film doesn't make you smile, then you've probably never felt your pulse quicken or experienced butterflies in your stomach when you lay eyes on the object of your affection.