Plot: When his wife Emily (Julianne Moore) says she wants a divorce (and having an affair) the life a successful family man, Cal (Steve Carell) seems hopeless until he unwillingly becomes the 'wingman' to a local playboy at local bar named Jacob (Ryan Gosling).
Review: While the comedy is still at the center of this movie, the first thing that jumped out at me was a surprisingly dramatic performance from Steve Carell, he still pulls of some of his best comedy to date and he may never win an Academy Award, but there's a level of depth that you don't usually see from him and his on screen chemistry with Moore during their arguments comes off painfully.
The plot itself weaves the supporting characters in and out of his life really well and I didn't see how many of them related to Cal until the very end. In spite of the cast having some fantastic actors, most notably Emma Stone, Marrisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon, none of them steal the show and the plot stays squarely on its two frayed characters. The only problem at all with this movie is the character Bernie (John Carrol Lynch). I don't know if his performance was meant to be that over the top or if it was written that way, but he ultimately weakens what would've been a fantastic ending.
In the end: In spite of a few bumps, the is a wonderful story about how we can take the best things for granted and what we do to get them back.
Grade: B+
No comments:
Post a Comment