BEFORE: I completely forgot to mention our Valentine's Day dinner last night - actually, we went out to dinner the night before, to beat the restaurant rush. Usually we go out a few days later, but the way the calendar fell, it made more sense to go out on a Wednesday night. We even skipped our usual Feb. 14th restaurant in favor of one whose executive chef recently won a TV cooking competition (no, not that one, I mean "Next Iron Chef"). So, an excellent meal, followed by a clandestine exchange of greeting cards and chocolates, and I can't complain.
It's good to point out that watching films about divorce has not coincided with real-life events - thanks to all none of my friends who were concerned about that. Divorce carries over as a topic tonight, and Julianne Moore carries over from "Laws of Attraction".
THE PLOT: A middle-aged husband's life changes dramatically when his wife asks him for a divorce. He seeks to rediscover his manhood with the help of a newfound friend, Jacob, learning to pick up girls at bars.
FOLLOW-UP TO: "Dan in Real Life" (Movie #784)
AFTER: I'm marking this as a follow-up not just because of the presence of Steve Carell (last heard in "Despicable Me") as the lead actor, but also because this film also relishes putting him in extremely awkward situations, and that is where he seems to shine the best. Asking women out in bars - very awkward. Getting turned down - more awkward. And not getting turned down somehow proves to be the most awkward of all.
As a man who's been married for 25 years getting back on the scene, his character, Cal, is pretty clueless - he doesn't know what NOT to talk about in bars, and his depressed ramblings bring him to the attention of Jacob, who does quite well with the ladies (again, it's a help to look like a Hollywood star). Jacob agrees to tutor Cal in the art of picking up women, most likely to get his happy-time bar back.
The two sort of represent the two schools of thought when it comes to relationships - whether to pursue with diligence, or just relax and let it happen. Cal believes in pursuit, that once you've found your soulmate you should go all in, and if things get rough, hang in there and never give up. But Jacob's slickness and reputation allow him to be more laid-back, let things be what they'll be, and let the women come to him voluntarily (or, at least, make them think they're doing that...).
It turns out that Cal can learn some things from Jacob, not just conversation tips but also how to have a more relaxed attitude - and then later in the film, after Jacob meets a special girl, it's suggested that maybe he learned a few things from Jacob as well, because he starts talking about commitment, perhaps for the first time.
I'm not prepared to call learning to talk to women a "scheme", but there are a few love triangles here, or maybe it's more like a love hexagon, with each person infatuated by the next in some kind of disfunctional cascading chain. And then it all comes to a head in one big blowout confrontation. Again, awkward situations create some great moments.
But there's also a contrivance, which I will not reveal. Suffice it to say that last night's screenwriting was too dumb, and the writing here is perhaps a bit too clever. A key piece of information is not revealed to the audience until it becomes important, and that process is therefore a little suspect. But it does make for a brutally honest depiction of romantic confusion.
Also starring Ryan Gosling (last seen in "Lars and the Real Girl"), Emma Stone (last seen in "Easy A"), Marisa Tomei (last seen in "Cyrus"), Kevin Bacon (last seen in "Picture Perfect"), John Carroll Lynch, Beth Littleford, Analeigh Tipton, with a cameo from Josh Groban.
RATING: 6 out of 10 text messages
If someone is really your friend, he or she has been thinking "John is writing about divorce right now because four to seven months ago he saw a common link to a bunch of movies on his list and he thought they'd make a good chain for Valentines Day."
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