But no, seriously. Sometimes I read Roger Ebert's film reviews and pour through his essay collections, often I spend hours on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes discovering new films, trailers and actors and I recently finished The Film Club, a memoir by David Gilmour in which he agrees to let his son drop out of high school if the boy will agree to watch three movies a week.
I don't have to drop out of high school, thankfully, but since apparently movies aren't important to Kennesaw anymore (thanks for going out of business Blockbuster and Hollywood Video) and Netflix went up on their price, I think watching three a week is a little far fetched for me. So I made it four a month but with a conscious effort to watch more.
I plan on watching everything! From the latest blockbusters and romantic comedies, to obscure cult classics, Foreign films and the universally critically acclaimed films. Also, everything on Spielberg's list would be a nice Bucket List goal. Maybe I'll try to make a dent in that this year. I just want to broaden my horizons and be intellectually, visually and artistically stimulated. If I can laugh a little bit, that's alright too!
I plan on watching everything! From the latest blockbusters and romantic comedies, to obscure cult classics, Foreign films and the universally critically acclaimed films. Also, everything on Spielberg's list would be a nice Bucket List goal. Maybe I'll try to make a dent in that this year. I just want to broaden my horizons and be intellectually, visually and artistically stimulated. If I can laugh a little bit, that's alright too!
Alrighty then, explanation out of the way, the first film watched of the Gap Year was Warner Bros. Crazy, Stupid, Love. I am always wary of spending money in a movie theater, just because I'm broke and that is a luxury, but wowwwza. I would pay to go see it again any day!
I'm sure you don't live under a rock, but if you do, the plot line is that Cal (Steve Carell) is in the process of getting a divorce from his high school sweetheart Emily (Julianne Moore). Ryan Gosling's character, Jacob, is the resident ladies' man of the neighborhood bar and decides to help Cal get his groove back, so to speak. Of course that is only the surface plot line, there are many more layers. Oh wait, what a novel idea. A romantic comedy can have layers? Revolutionary.
I won't put any spoilers in here, that's just plain mean. But let me just tell you the finest scene in the film is when Cal sneaks into his family home's backyard to do some yard work because he fears another man will do it and he sees his wife and children through the windows eating ice cream. Emily goes to another room and calls him, asking with help because the pilot light went out. Cal tenderly walks her through the process, yet he can clearly see that she is standing in the study, not the basement. The dialogue is about pilot lights, but what they are saying without saying it is so beautiful you could cry!
There isn't a weak link in the whole film. Emma Stone is adorable as usual, even though I think lately she has just been cast as herself! But whatever, I love herself so that's not a problem. Marisa Tomei is hilarious, Ryan Gosling plays the suave philanderer perfectly and ladies left and right will be falling in love with him if they survived The Notebook. Josh Groban even has a delightful cameo as Emma Stone's boyfriend (watch for vignettes of modern life in the scenes between her and the lawyers. No doubt they are playing Crazy Birds on their blackberries!). They may be overlooked because they aren't the bigger name stars, but two of my favorites were Jonah Bobo (Cal's thirteen year old son) and Analeigh Tipton, who plays Jessica, the babysitter. Soooo good.
In short, the film isn't life changing, but it is definitely worth your money! The actors do an amazing job with the wonderful script provided by Dan Fogelman. In some parts it is genuinely funny and in others it is genuine and that's all you need.
Go see it! A perfect summer film. The guys will love it too, promise.
