Looking for love in 'Crazy, Stupid, Love'

If you like buying in bulk, consider "Crazy, Stupid, Love," which packs at least six comedy-dramas into one. It has multiple stars, plots, messages and endings. Just keep in mind that quantity is not the same as quality.

The film's hero, one of several, is Cal Weaver (Steve Carell), a man so boring that his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore), asks for a divorce while pondering the dessert menu. Drowning his sorrows at a local bar, Cal meets a smooth-as-rayon ladykiller named Jacob (Ryan Gosling), who decides to re-masculate this sorry specimen. Step one is a new wardrobe. "Are you Steve Jobs?" Jacob barks. "Then you got no right wearing New Balance sneakers. Ever."

The charismatic Gosling and the self-effacing Carell have fun as the lone wolf and the golden Lab, at least when they can. Attention also must be paid to Cal's 13-year-old son, Robbie (Jonah Bobo), who lusts after his babysitter, Jessica (an endearing Analeigh Tipton). She, in turn, nurses an inexplicable crush on Cal. Crammed into smaller roles are Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon and singer Josh Groban, gamely spoofing his plain-vanilla image.

A refreshing pause comes when Jacob brings home the high-spirited Hannah (Emma Stone) for an evening that goes not quite as planned. In one long, beautifully handled scene, they surprise each other, crack each other up and discover a mutual attraction and tenderness. For a few lovely minutes, the film belongs only to them.

Otherwise, "Crazy, Stupid, Love" feels like a party so crowded that nobody can enjoy it. (There are even two directors, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.) The movie talks incessantly about love, but it's too distracted to make its point.