Crazy, Stupid Love

I was very much looking forward to this film. Steve Carrell is the best comedic actor going and the cast was stellar- Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Marissa Tomei and Emma Stone, heavy hitters all. No surprise then, the best thing about this film is the afore mentioned cast. They are by turns charming, honest, funny, sincere and totally likeable. The reason this is such an accomplishment is because the script to this film is by turns hokey, dishonest, predictable and altogether unoriginal. What a disappointment.
Steve Carrell and Julianne Moore are married with children. They've grown apart, and Carrell is blindsided at dinner one night to find that Moore has had an affair and wants a divorce. Carrell is deeply hurt and obliges. Now the meat of this story kicks in. The two must find away to live life without each other. Elaborate and convoluted hijinx involving a baby sitter, a womanizer, various love interests and Moore's lover ensue. All these elements converge in Carrell's backyard (or former backyard, as it were) for an obligatory scene so contrived that it would make a James Bond screenwriter blush. There are a whole lot of complicated romantic sub plots in this movie but none are more problematic than the one involving Carrell's 13 year old son and his babysitter. It is alternately goofy, creepy, and dishonest. No thirteen year old boy would behave this way....EVER. The plot line wraps up with a scene at the kids graduation where gushy platitudes are uttered rendering the entire thing almost unwatchable in a goofy, uncomfortable way. It hamstrings the movie.
There is, however, a revelation in "Crazy, Stupid Love" and that revelation is Ryan Gosling. I'm beginning to believe that he is a bit of an on-screen miracle worker. He takes a character that is written on the fringes of unlikeability and fleshes out a character with depth and complexity...mostly on his own. It's official. He can do anything. He's the best young actor going.
In totality, this film fails in more ways than it succeeds but its trump suit is in the casting, and there it has a strong hand. For many people I imagine, it will be enough. For me it was ultimately a major disappointment.