"Crazy, Stupid, Love.", one-night stand entertainment

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Ok, "Crazy, Stupid, Love" is not going to shake the foundations of film industry, and won't (shouldn't) go down in history. But as a romantic comedy with a limited palette, it has an undeniable charm, thanks to the chemistry of their cast, and some very funny and rewarding moments, plus an engaging vibe that lasts almost the entire film.

As I just said, the plot of "Crazy, Stupid, Love" is pretty archetypical. Won't go into it because I would easily ruin it for you, but very briefly: is the sort of coral rom-com, with love affairs for every age group, from teenage years to a 40-some couple that breaks their marriage after 25 years, where no one is taking what he/she wants.

Despite the pivotal story of the film is the Weaver's breakup, soon one realise this is mainly the show of two characters/actors: the heartbroken Cal Weaver played by Steve Carell, and Jacob Palmer, the ladyslayer played by Ryan Gosling. They met in a pickup bar and build an awkwad, pygmalionesque, relationship, where the young one teaches the out-of-the-market, old-fashioned middle-aged one, how to pick up girls. Honestly, in the hands of many comedians this argument would have been annoying, but Carell and Gosling make it amusing. Praise Carell for being capable of showing so many different faces with that credibility on the same film.

The movie keeps going and the related stories start evolving, with some hilarious situations and a flowing pace. Also with some strange and anticlimactic moments, I guess the way directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa want to subvert the obvious and trite paths of romantic comedies. Unfortunately, the movie only "seems" original, but is far from being really brave or revolutionary. On the contrary, as we cross the halfway point, it becomes evident "Crazy, Stupid, Love." makes a conscious decision for a commercial, conservative ending. Not complaining, because I didn't think the movie had any other pretension than being a good entertainment.

Aside for its more foreseeable second half I have two other concerns too add to the film. One is typical of the coral movies. Stories tends to be unbalanced. In this case I would say the youngest "love affair" is a flimsy argument, and it gets a bit overexploited, despite babysitter's Jessica is a character fantastically played by Analeigh Tipton. Also, is a bit disappointing wasting such a great actress like Julianne Moore, or in a more secondary roles, Kevin Bacon and Marisa Tomei, for their limited (the latest two are pure caricatures) roles. And the second one is the end. We get almost 20 unnecessary (in my opinion) extra minutes from what could have been a much better scene (that fight is among the funniest of the film) to close the film on a high note. But instead we have a very typical, commercially safe one.

Overall, this is a quite pleasant movie, thanks to the great performance of Steve Carell, well backed by Ryan Gosling and the rest of the cast, with some memorable scenes (one involving "Dirty Dancing" which is remarkable) that makes it a nice entertainment. Following its argument, don't expect the "love of your life", but  will do for a one-night stand.

SCORE: 6/10

"X-Men: First Class", mutants go pop

X-Men: First Class

Although not a die-hard fan, I remember myself reading several superhero comics. Among them, of course, the X-Men. So despite the excessive and generally mediocre (with very few exceptions) amount of superhero movies Hollywood is offering us lately, I had some interest in seeing the latest X-Men, specially because the film was raised as a reboot/prequel, explaining the origin of Marvel's most famous group. 

To start the review, I admit I enjoyed the film quite a lot. "X-Men: First Class" is entertaining, carefree, with rhythm and a pop, 60's-70's aesthetic. It is not a masterpiece, far from it, but that is not the intention of his director, Matthew Vaughn. It doesn't pretend to be the definitive superhero movie. Just an engaging and fun film to watch.

But saying that I'm also pointing out there are several underachievements. Not taking a film very seriously can be refreshing in one hand, but also impedes to go further than the mere entertainment. "First Class" doesn't develops all its potential. Something to regret considering the possibilities.

Main example is the relation between Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr, soon to become Professor X and Magneto, that had a lot to offer. Thanks to the great acting of James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, who revitalise with remarkable assurance their well-known and difficult roles, they become the main pillars of the movie. Their scenes together are the stand-outs of "First Class". Unfortunately, their friendship and differences are wildly mutilated, so we don't really see their evolution together. Although is something partially understandable in order to give rhythm to the film, these excessive cutting feeling is permanent during the film. Director's Matthew Vaughn wants to give a concrete flow and style, but he sacrifices the storytelling.

So, while at least we can say Professor X and Magneto are able to survive in the editing process, the supporting cast has been stripped down to just a couple of scenes to show their superpower or to look cool. The supervillain Mr.Schmidt, played by Kevin Bacon, has a monster plan with an interesting nazi parallelism... that we have to guess, because without knowing his motivations, on screen looks a bit ridiculous (a nuclear holocaust would also destroy his dreamed mutant-ruled world). Is even gross with the feminine characters, like Emma Frost (January Jones) or Angel, that seems to be there just for the sake of showing someone "hot". Or Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), whose "moral evolution" is absolutely unbelievable.

The same complaint is valid regarding the world threat the mutants face. The mixture with real, historical facts about the nuclear terror, is funny on a first approach, and makes the mutant look like secret agents or very special spies (the "Bond vibe" some critics highlight is true) but is arbitrarily done and turns into some ridiculous action scenes, brilliantly done and entertaining to watch, but silly if you think about it. The timeline and continuity of the film is seriously weak.

I'm unsure an extended cut of "X-Men: First Class" would solve the problem, because I have the feeling the director did this "highlights collection" film absolutely on purpose, so probably its better to accept what this movie is. Just a well done, pleasant entertainment.

SCORE: 6/10