I had absolutely no clue what the movie was going to be about, didn’t even see any trailers of it. The title gave me the impression that it was another one of those mosaic movies ala Love Actually, but it’s not. The movie revolves around just two guys – Cal and Jacob. Mostly Cal, though.
I enjoyed it immensely, most especially the twists and the hilarious scenes. There was also a moment when a tear trickled down my cheek. I also couldn’t believe that I did not recognize Josh Groban in the film. As I was watching it I was thinking, that guy is so familiar. Which film is he from? Turns out he’s not from a film, because this is his first one (Though he has done some spots on TV, like Ally McBeal and Glee. Had no trouble recognizing him in those.) I didn’t recognize him without his huge curly mane. I therefore conclude that hair has a huge impact on a person’s appearance.
And now that we got that out of the way, on to the spoilers.
The story goes: Cal is out on a date with his wife of 25 years when she blurts out that she wants a divorce at the exact same time that he says he wants creme brulee. When she admits that she slept with another guy, he begs for her to stop talking and jumps out of their moving car when she rambles on.
He moves out of their house and frequents a bar, blurting his miserable story out to anyone and everyone who would listen. Jacob, an expert ladies man, sees him and pities him, offering to help Cal find the manhood that he lost and vowing that his ex wife will rue the day that she gave up on him. He gives Cal a total makeover from his shoes down to his wallet (which had an annoying velcro opening that made a ripping noise every time he opened it). He then brings Cal along on all his bar conquests that end up with him bringing ladies home to bed. In time, Cal is ready and manages such a personality overhaul that he mirrors Jacob’s success, enough to bed nine different women, when so far he had slept with only one woman in his entire life; his wife had been his teenage sweetheart.
He sees his wife again during their son’s parent-teacher conference and this is also when the first major twist happens – turns out their son’s teacher was the first girl he hooked up with. And there goes his chance to get back together with his “soulmate.”
Meanwhile, Jacob is in bar moving in on another conquest when a rain-drenched Hannah who had previously rejected his advances swoops in and kisses him. Hannah had just come from a celebration where she thought her boyfriend (who is Josh Groban whom I didn’t recognize as I mentioned earlier) was going to propose to her but it turns out he was just going to offer her a job in his law firm. Her anger with him had propelled her to do something crazy. She lets Jacob take her to his place so that she could “bang” the hot guy who hit on her at the bar. She nervously asks him to take off his top and when she sets eyes on his abs, she goes, “F***! It’s like you’re photoshopped!” When he asks her to take her own clothes off, she asks if they could dim the lights. They finally make it to the bedroom but as he is kissing her, she starts asking funny questions and they end up talking and laughing the entire night instead. This is the first time Jacob makes a personal connection with a girl, so he falls for her, and asks Cal’s advice on what to do.
Cal is still in love with his wife and secretly tidies up her garden at night so she wouldn’t have to ask her other guy to do it for her. While he is in one of these sessions, he catches sight of her through the window as she walks into the living room to call someone… which turns out to be him. She says that she’s in the basement and needs him to guide her through something. He knows that she is lying because he could see her, but he plays along. And that’s when he realizes that she also still loved him, as she was just making up excuses just so she could talk to him. This was the moment when I was so touched that a tear rolled down my cheek.
So Cal decides to follow his son’s advice and fight for his soulmate, hatching a surprise for her. While he is in the middle of doing this, though, all hell breaks loose. His eldest daughter arrives with her new boyfriend who is none other than… Jacob. Both men are shocked at the revelation that Hannah is Cal’s daughter. Then a friend of Cal’s storms into the house looking for him because he had just seen his 17-year old daughter’s naked pictures in an envelope addressed to “Cal.” Cal had no clue that his kids’ babysitter had been secretly in love with him while his 13-year old son was in love with her. Then the guy that Cal’s wife cheated on him with shows up as well, and all the men end up trying to beat each other up. This was a laugh out loud scene.
Everything works out well in the end, though. Love for the win! 🙂
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