RBR: Crazy Stupid Love

I'm not going to beat around the bush...I hated this movie. And the thing of it is, is that I shouldn't have. It had a terrific cast including Steve Carell, Emma Stone, Julianne Moore, and Ryan Gosling. It also received effusive praise from Entertainment Weekly, amongst other movie critics. But after watching it, I don't know what happened or why I did not have the same reaction as so many people did to this movie. Much of the praise it's receiving is for its seemingly realistic depiction of adult romance, but that wasn't my take on it. There are at least two major scenes in the film where a surprise/twist is revealed that were utterly preposterous. There is no way the characters in the film would have been that stupid or lacked the necessary communication skills in order to learn of these surprises earlier. I was shocked that the film would try to pass that off as believable to audiences. Beyond that, you have a lot of underwritten characters who's motivations for their actions are unclear and thus undercut the emotion behind them. I also found it insulting how much of Steve Carell's story arc seems cribbed straight from The 40 Year Old Virgin. Say what you will, but I found his quest to improve himself in order to find true love much more realistic and appealing. My only guess is that many reviewers must have been distracted by the unnecessary constant display of Ryan Gosling's abs to effectively evaluate the major flaws of this movie. How else do you explain more people not being disturbed by the creepy subplot involving Carell's 13 year old son lusting over the 17 year old babysitter, who was in turn lusting after Carell. I understand critics' and viewers' desire for better romantic comedies than the pile of dreck turned out by Katherine Heigl every year, but this is not the answer. Those who love this movie are the one ones who are crazy and stupid. Rating: * 1/2