Crazy, Stupid, Love. - 熟男型不型

Crazy, Stupid, Love. (熟男型不型) is an 2011 summer film. The movie stars Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, and Emma Stone. The supporting cast includes Kevin Bacon, Marisa Tomei, Analeigh Tipton, and Liza Lapira.

The movie starts with Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) and his wife Emily (Julianne Moore) are having a hard time picking a dinner at a restaurant. A very uncomfortable looking Emily declares that she wants a divorce and reveals that she has cheated on him. From this point on, Cal puts in motion the process of divorce by moving out. Cal makes his way to a bar the night Emily wants a divorce and meets Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). Jacob is presented as an successful playa that gets all the pretty girls. However, the first time we meet Jacob, he unsuccessfully beds Hannah (Emma Stone) at the bar. Jacob takes pity on Cal and teaches him the tricks of the womanizing trade. Eventually, through osmosis, Cal becomes a player. However, Cal is still in love with Emily and goes back to the house and secretly maintains the lawn and garden. Will he win back the love of his life?

The Zhong Wen translation for this movie is quite weird, 熟男型不型. 熟男 means mature male. 型不型 in this context means capable. Put together, it does not equal Crazy, Stupid, Love. I can see how they have a judgmental angle on the character of Love, but its not what the movie is about. Again, very weird name for the movie. In general, its hit and miss with the translations. In this case, it totally missed the mark and contains nothing from the orignal English name.

The movie was quite trying for me. I am not a particular fan of both Steve Carell and Julianne Moore. However, the trailer looked so good and it had Ryan Gosling. The movie presented a unique story. I am married with children, so getting movies with that life stage is a plus. Unfortunately , in order for Hollywood to spice things up, it usually comes with infidelity and divorce. Unique story and perspective with lots of things. The Jacob and Hannah story had a unique twist and you ended up cheering for them. There were a couple of side plots that I didn't care much for, but was needed for things to move along.

Ryan Gosling is my current favorite Hollywood actor. Dood chooses good films. He's entering the prime of his careers and hopefully it'll last. As for Steve Carell, he didn't play that comedic type guy that we see on Office or Bruce Almighty. Steve played the role straight as a hurt man who's wife cheated on him and wanted a divorce. Not a imbecile that I want to run away from.

21 - 決勝21點

21 (決勝21點) is a 2008 film. The movie stars Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, and Kate Bosworth. The supporting cast include Aaron Yoo, Liza Lapira, Jacob Pitts, and Laurence Fishburne. The movie was based on the book Bringing Down the House.

Ben is a student at MIT. Ben is great in the classroom, but not so great with paying the bills. Faced with financial odds, he agrees to join a blackjack squad. The squad is very successful in bringing down the house of various casinos. As time goes on, Ben gets a little out of hand and thats when things fall apart. How will he get his life back together.

The film was controversial in the Asian American realm because the book it was based on was of a true story. And the main protagonist were Asian American. To this day, 21 is used by Asian Americans in jokes and parodies to point to the overt racist behavior in Hollywood.

As the movie itself, is it worth watching? Yes, it was a pretty interesting subject matter, even with the human elements thrown in, it didn't detract from the main story of Ben needing money to pay bills.