Despite the rather `meh`-sounding premise, the film is buoyed by both an acerbically witty script and a stellar all-round performance by its cast members. Carell`s brand of awkward humour suffuses the bulk of the movie, evoking laughter that often borders on the auditory equivalent of a cringe. Of particular note is the chemistry that he shares with Ryan Gosling, whose deadpan, wise-cracking wingman routine serves as an amazing counterpoint to Carell`s trademark fumbling faux pas.
Like the characters that Carell tends to play, however, the film is lovable but imperfect: several of the jokes are buried beneath a sentimentality that occasionally veers into melodrama, and the pacing of the movie is as erratic as its clunky punctuated title. While delivering the expected laughs, the movie attempts to juggles too many plot lines and themes, with metaphoricalâ€