Well, 'ya know what they say, eh?
Never perform with children, animals, or Ryan Gosling's buffed bod!
In a handful of scenes in the feature release - "Crazy Stupid Love" - that appears to ring true as fans tend to fixate on Gosling's hulking physique while they pass on Steve Carell's bumbling shtick.
Part of the problem for me as a filmgoer?
The popular comic often played-to-camera instead of inhabiting the character (get under his skin, Steve), so that the role could resonate and bubble up with truth.
That aside, for the less discriminating, the (at times) screwball flick is a visually-pleasing movie that sweeps up the audience for a side-splitting two hours of off-beat fun once it switches gears about-a-third of the way through.
In a nutshell, the plot line focuses on a middle-aged "gap" Dad (Carell), who is taken by surprise out-of-the-blue one day when his melancholy wife (Julianne Moore) asks for a divorce.
Enter Ryan Gosling's character (Jacob) - who takes pity on the boring suburban accountant - and makes a bold-faced attempt to pump some testosterone into "Weaver's" over-the-hill persona.
Jacob - a man-about-town with a slew of pick-up lines (and an impressive swagger to boot) proceeds to coach the heartbroken love-struck puppy with the ultimate aim of steering him in the direction of sexual bliss with a young sexy siren.
Unfortunately, Gosling was miscast in this big-budget feature.
In sum, the popular star of - "The Notebook" (I cried, too) - lacks the maturity to pull of this complex meaty role.
Here, Gosling's one-dimensional pedestrian approach gives the impression that he is reading off of a teleprompter instead of acting out his little heart impromptu.
When I reflected on the producer's shortcoming (they came up short on talent and long on charismatic appeal) it suddenly occurred to me that Warren Beatty - when he was younger and in his prime - would have been a perfect "Jacob".
Beatty - at the zenith of his dazzling career - exuded all the qualities right for this off-the-wall comedy bill-of-fare.
For example, the "Bonnie & Clyde" star was - not only smooth, and sexy, and brimming with self-confidence - but also radiated a mischievous quality that would have gone far to cinch it (in my estimation).
I confess, though, that Gosling was mesmerizing in a key scene at the near-end of the film when he exchanged intimate - totally non-sexual moments - with a date while snuggling between-the-streets.
After that, the character's transformation was too quick, though.
Of course, that was the fault of the screenwriters, not Gosling.
When Jacob becomes a tamed beast - almost overnight - it stretches one's credulity somewhat.
For me, segments of the film delighted when they unfolded unexpectedly out-of-the-blue, and I didn't see the plot twist coming.
One scene (where Carell's character engages in a wild romp in-the-hay with a teacher he picks-up at a singles bar) was not only hilarious and side-splitting - but - worth the price of admission, too.
Julianne Moore (Weaver's wife) turned in a solid portrayal as usual in a role that required subtle nuances few in the biz have the talent to finesse onscreen.
Kevin Bacon, on the other hand, phoned in his performance (which was a shame).
This was Bacon's opportunity to flex his acting muscle - and likewise - establish to the show-biz community-at-large that he could play mature characters in major mainstream movies (but he failed miserably here).
There are about ten degrees of separation for the "Footloose" star now.
As to the film, well, it rates 2 3/4 Stars.
Hilarious! Entertaining! Insightful!
But, in the final analysis, it is a bit of a morality tale.
Though love is meant to be a joyous union of souls, it can also end up being stupid and crazy, as hell.
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