Despicable Me 2 Official Trailer

Crazy, Intelligent, Love.

Crazy, Stupid, Love. is touching, enjoyable, and genuine.  Athough a bit off-color at times, it never really resorts to crazy, stupid rom-com cliches.  It stars Steve Carell as Cal Weaver, whose wife Emily (the always excellent Julianne Moore) decides to end their 25 year marriage.  Cal drowns his sorrows at a bar where he meets smooth operator Jacob Palmer (a wonderful Ryan Gosling in a rare comedic role), who takes him under his wing.  The two actors have incredible chemistry.  Mr. Carell tones down the comedy and does exemplary dramatic work, while Mr. Gosling amps up the funny.  It's almost unbelievable that future lawyer Hannah (the quirky and terrific Emma Stone) would manage to resist Jacob's lady killer ways at all.

The cast is rounded out by Marisa Tomei as Cal's first successful pick-up after his Jacob make-over; Kevin Bacon as David Lindhagen, Emily's new man.  The Weavers' 13 year old son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) is besotted with their babysitter Jessica (Analeigh Tipton), who in turn is infatuated with Cal.  Of course, all sorts of complications, shenanigans and plot twists occur, which I will let you enjoy on your own.  All in all, a charming, non-formulaic romantic comedy that makes truthful-if-painful statements about love.

The DVD is out in stores.

(photo from Movie Poster DB)

Hardly Despicable

Despicable Me had me at "It's so fluffy!" then add those unintelligible yellow Minions. Voila! We get a charming, fun, sentimental, family-friendly adventure film.

Steve Carell is Gru, a super-villain with Mommy issues (Julie Andrews voiced his mother). With a strange Eastern European accent and a physical resemblance to Danny DeVito's Penguin, he hatches a plan to steal the moon to show up rival baddie Vector (Jason Segel).

Behind every hero/antihero is a technological wizard, in this case, hard-of-hearing Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand). And of course, no self-respecting scoundrel would find himself without the aforementioned Minions to do his bidding. (I would love to watch the DVD just to see the individual expressions and actions of each one.)

Instrumental to his plot are 3 little girls from the orphanage run by Miss Hattie (Kristen Wiig). Margo (Miranda Cosgrove) is the oldest and most pragmatic. Edith (Dana Gaier) is the mischief-maker, while Elsie Fisher voiced the impossibly cute Agnes who just wants a stuffed unicorn toy. Mr. Carell deftly walks the fine line between malevolence and benevolence as he tries to uphold his status as number one evildoer while balancing his duties as a new father. Mr. Perkins (Will Arnett) is the President of the Bank of Evil (according to the movie, the bank formerly known as Lehman Bros.) who has lost faith in Gru's ability to be a menace to society.

The film provides laughs, action, and just the right amount of tender moments as our bad guy learns that world domination is nothing compared to parenthood. Agnes said it best: "It's so fluffy, I think I'm gonna die!" If you can't get enough of those Minions, stay for the credits.

Steve Almighty

"Dan in Real Life" is a heartwarming romantic comedy starring Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche. Too bad it hasn't found its audience. I was in the theatre with two other people, and we were all laughing and crying during the movie. The supporting cast includes John Mahoney, Dianne Wiest, Norbert Leo Butz (who gets to play the piano and sing oh so briefly) and a bonus scene-stealing-as-usual Emily Blunt. If you liked writer/director Peter Hedges' s "Pieces of April" (which I did), then you'll enjoy this one. Steve is a widower with three daughters (His kids are great...yes, even the whiny middle child in her hormonal,nobody-understands-me rants). He falls in love with his brother's new girlfriend during a vacation at his parents' Rhode Island home. Your heart breaks when he picks up the guitar and sings to her later on in the film. Mr. Carell is tense and awkward yet ultimately charming and endearing. I think he is the next Tom Hanks/Mr. Nice Guy who's adept at both comedic and dramatic roles. (In his interviews he comes off as a really amiable and down-to-earth guy. Read this.)Ms. Binoche's character says at the beginning that she's looking for something that's not laugh out loud funny but human funny. This could well be this character-driven comedy picture's mission statement. And the filmmakers have succeeded.