Twisting your standard romantic comedy into something that's hilarious and refreshing

Rating: 8/10 (29 July 2011)

Love is the be-all and end-all of life. It's crazy, it's stupid, but you have to put everything towards winning over your soul-mate. That is what all of the characters believe. Except Jacob (Ryan Gosling). He believes that people who are in love are pathetic. Thank God for Ryan Gosling. I've been saying that a lot recently, but it's true. He makes everything he's in better.
Here, he wants to improve Cal (Steve Carell). Cal's wife (Julianne Moore) has announced she wants a divorce, so he jumps out of the car and winds up at a very swanky bar. The bar is basically Jacob's turf where he knows how to win over all women and get them to sleep with him. Disgusted by Cal's pathetic demeanor, we then get a man-makeover.
The best part of this movie is that they make everything funny. From divorce, to objectifying women, to inappropriate soul-mates, to depression, everything is funny. It's not darkly comic or making you laugh out of awkwardness, but taking real situations and making them genuinely funny. I frequently found myself laughing just waiting for Gosling's next line. His comedic chemistry between both Carell and Emma Stone was perfect.
Analeigh Tipton, a young Liv Tyler-type actress, plays the babysitter with the inappropriate crush, but I liked her. She added another layer to the role with a little bit of sassiness and a fresh take to the character.
"Crazy, Stupid, Love." is supposed to be your standard romantic comedy, where you know exactly what you're getting. But it is directed by the comic geniuses behind "I Love You Phillip Morris" and "Bad Santa", and you should know by that that this really isn't all the predictable. It has twists. I know, a romantic comedy with twists! They're inventive, fun, and most importantly, hilarious.