I went into this film with high expectations and it didn't disappoint. That's not because it was what I had been expecting, but because it surprised me, made me laugh and even brought a tear to my eye at one point. After watching the previews about a middle-aged and slightly stuck man (Steve Carrell) coping with his divorce by turning to a major lady's man (Ryan Gosling), I expected an upbeat comedy with various montages in which Gosling teaches Carrell how to dress and act. I envisioned a light hearted song playing in the background while Carrell comes out of the changing room wearing his underwear over his pants or something like that.
Instead, Gosling's visual transformation of Carrell took a total of two minutes and played a minimal role in the film's true theme. I was pleasantly surprised by how genuine the story of this broken family played out. Though some reviews have criticized the film's multiple story lines saying that the writers were going for a Love Actually theme and didn't pull through, I found each one to be endearing and well developed.
Carrell did a good job of not playing his usual role of the spazz. Yes, he was lonely and yes he was down on his luck, but he did it in a more realistic way than in some of his previous roles.
Basically the film shows the perfect example of false advertising. Yes it was crazy. And yes it was about love. But it definitely wasn't stupid.
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