CRAZY STUPID LOVE IS YOUR BEST MOVIE BET

****
TIMES SQUARE GOSSIP MOVIE REVIEW

'CRAZY STUPID LOVE IS CRAZY GOOD FUN'
****

Ryan Gosling

I've never been a huge fan of Steve Carell ; never really got into the antics on The Office in terms of breaking the fourth wall , but in this, his new movie Crazy, Stupid, Love, with an all-star cast firing on all cylinders, he nails a performance that will leave you breathless. A rather brilliant script with some novel twists and turns and an all-star performance by Ryan Gosling, Crazy, Stupid, Love is just crazy good fun! Emily (Julianne Moore) announces to long-time husband Cal (Steve Carell) she wants a divorce … over dinner. Cal jumps out of the car on the way home and tells his family that he'll be moving out. He begins to hang out nightly at a local bar, which he confesses he's been by a million times, but never stopped in. He's observed at this bar by Jacob (Ryan Gosling), who appears to have more than his share of available women on a nightly basis. He calls Cal over and offers to turn him into something of a chick-magnet. Reluctantly, Cal agrees and so begins the task of turning Cal around. Funnily enough, the first step is getting Cal to buy his correct suit size! Turns out, he's been buying his clothes a size too big for decades … great line! Along the way, Jacob meets reserved-lawyer Hannah (Emma Stone) who thirsts for a wedding proposal from her boss Richard (Josh Groban) … and, who has just by chance met Jacob in the very same bar, with her friend Liz, brilliantly played by Liza Lapira. All these twists and turns come together with a most satisfying hook; it's at once totally unexpected, then comes together perfectly. I won't reveal how it ends, but it is a hopeful one. I also want to call out the young actor who plays their son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) ; he is absolutely terrific. It's also a nice dynamic that the son's relationship with their parents is honest, rather than just funny and a throwaway one. The scenes with him, and there are several, are in many ways the highlights of the movie. It's grand that these scenes are as serious as all the others. Bravo! The script by Dan Fogelman is just brilliant; fast-paced, evocative … and, funny. Its actually one of the best written movies I've seen since Woody Allen's Midnight In Paris. Carrel, Moore, Gosling, Stone ... these are without a doubt their best performances ever with a most charming, in every way, script. Marisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon are here too and deliver some nice flourishes with their roles. Bacon's role is a tad different than his last several efforts; here more comedic than you would think; and, he's great! Even Groban delivers a nice turn, as the rather weasel-y lawyer. The direction by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa is efficient and serviceable to the script in the best way possible. Besides all the comic antics, this is a script and movie to listen too. In many ways, THE movie of the summer. For a most pleasurable time, check this one out. It's at the top of my list so far!

Photos By: Sara De Boer/Retna