Genre: Romantic comedy
Directors: Glenn Ficarra & John Requa
Plot: After his wife leaves him, a middle aged man runs into a good looking ladies man, who teaches him how to get back into the dating game.
The gist: To call this a rom-com is a bit inaccurate as it is quite unconventional in its approach, for instance there isn't a textbook guy and gal who need to be paired up by the end. In fact, this film focuses on the trials and tribulations of love from different points of view, and the hilarious messes that occur.
The filmmakers did a splendid job in coming up with a film that teaches a thing or two about love without being too preachy, and even manage to make it interesting to last till the final minute.
Steve Carell deserves credit for being the anchor of the film as the likable loser who has to find a way to make things right with his wife again. He has great chemistry with Ryan Gosling as the womaniser, who plays his part like it was second nature to him. The rest of the cast do well too, although a few don't really stand out.
The good: Most of the jokes are spot on, thanks to Carell's perfect comic timing and Gosling's charm. The plot is solid for the most part and the ending isn't run of the mill, which is good.
The bad: Some characters just didn't work that well, like Marisa Tomei's teacher role who has a one night stand with Carell, she was just too damn annoying. Kevin Bacon was also unnecessarily cast in a role that any other male actor could have done. And then there's the twist with Emma Stone's character in the third act that just wasn't executed well enough, not good enough for me to believe it was possible as the story moved to that point.
Verdict: Unlike the pretentious Closer, this film is a well made piece on romance and its pitfalls, and why we ought to fight for it anyway. (3.5/5)
