Trailer Alert: Crazy, Stupid, Love

Ryan Gosling is a serious actor who makes serious movies. He’s not just some Hollywood hunk for hire!

Wha – oh. Scratch that.

In Crazy, Stupid, Love Gosling plays a young womanizer who tries to help a hapless middle-aged stuffed shirt (played by Steve Carrell) save his marriage. Along the way, he also happens to take his shirt off multiple times.

Let it be said that I have no problem with the objectification of Ryan Gosling. That may seem hypocritical, seeing as I decry the amount of actors who settle for easy, hollow movie roles. But let’s consider the past roles that Gosling has taken on (as spoiler-free as possible):

• The Believer – neo-Nazi
• The Slaughter Rule – neglected teenager
• Murder By Numbers – murderous teenager
• The United States of Leland – (possibly) murderous teenager
• The Notebook – tortured romantic separated from his true love for years
• Stay – suicidal college student
• Half Nelson – crack-addicted history teacher
• Fracture – tireless investigator on the heels of a murderer
• Lars and the Real Girl – lonely, strange man who befriends a blow up doll
• All Good Things – deeply sinister and corrupt business man
• Blue Valentine – miserable, balding father in a crumbling marriage

I think the dude has earned the right to have a little fun and take his shirt off once in a while. I’m certainly not going to complain.

And on top of that, Crazy, Stupid, Love actually looks pretty good. Yes, it looks like a somewhat standard rom-com, but it at least looks like it’s done well. And I would go see pretty much any movie with Gosling, Steve Carrell, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, and Kevin Bacon. That’s a mighty fine cast.

I’m already cheering for Gosling and Stone’s relationship, and Carrell and Moore seem like a very believable married couple. It looks funny and cute, and sometimes that’s enough.

(I also really like the use of Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks” and Muse’s “Black Holes and Revelations” in the trailer. Good music has been known to bring out my biases.)

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Trailer Round-Up: May 15, 2010

Charlie St. Cloud

I feel like an idiot for being excited for this movie, but I kind of am. Call it Zac Efron fangirl-ism if you want, but I think that Efron’s a surprisingly decent actor. Considering how fun he was in 17 Again, it’ll be interesting to see how he handles a fully dramatic role. By the looks of the trailer, Charlie St. Cloud seems a bit overly sappy, but Efron’s acting isn’t bad, from what I can tell, and it might be a good transition for him into weightier roles. It’s always a good sign when I’m more excited to see a movie after seeing the trailer, and even though it looks rather clichéd, I’m still interested.

Easy A

I loved Emma Stone in films like Superbad, The Rocker, and Zombieland, so it’s great to see her getting her own movie. Easy A looks surprisingly good for a teen comedy, and with Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, Lisa Kudrow, and Thomas Hayden Church in the supporting cast, I’m pretty much sold on this Scarlett Letter-inspired comedy.

Inception (trailer #3)

We’re finally kinda sorta getting some plot information, and it’s great to see all of the major players in the cast pop up in the third trailer for Christopher Nolan’s highly-anticipated Inception. I’m trying not to build it up to much in my mind, because it’ll be hard for it live up to my expectations, but this trailer is pretty awesome.

The Adjustment Bureau

What starts off as a rote romance film soon adds an interesting twist to the political thriller genre in this trailer for the latest Matt Damon vehicle. Damon and Emily Blunt are great, and The Adjustment Bureau looks like a big, fun film. Glad to see both of these actors making a film like this.

You Again

Kristen Bell is a charming actress, and Betty White, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Sigourney Weaver are always a lot of fun when they pop up in goofy supporting roles. However, this trailer is too manic and clichéd to make me want to see the movie.

Buried

This teaser trailer for Buried barely shows us anything, but it looks like a refreshingly different role for Ryan Reynolds. Definitely intriguing, but I’d like to see more.

Super 8

Again, this shows us barely anything. The train crash on its own isn’t that interesting, but if it’s a J.J. Abrams film (presumably) about aliens, I’m on board.