Another 20 Underrated Movies You Have To See

Glenn Ficarra and John Requa's hilarious romcom is one of the genres best hidden gems, full of frank discussions about love and family and hysterical one-liners you'll be quoting for hours after the credits have rolled.

The film has a lot of the typical tropes of the genre, but manages with each sub-plot and each new character to feel fresh and revitalising.

Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) has just been left by his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore), and in his heartbreak he joins a loud-and-proud playboy, Jacob (Ryan Gosling) in picking up women at a downtown bar. Along the way, Cal becomes more confident, smooth and selfish, and finds himself straddling a dangerous line between getting over his ex-wife and pushing his family away.

There are also sub-plots in which Jacob finds himself falling for a young lawyer, Hannah (Emma Stone), Cal's son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) confesses his love to his older babysitter (Analeigh Tipton), Emily tries to make up her mind about her new love interest (Kevin Bacon), and babysitter Jessica confronts her feelings for Cal.

It's a constant stream of fun, hilarity and sweetness, sappy and melodramatic whilst still being intelligent and constantly relatable. Carrel, Gosling, Stone, Moore and Bacon are particular stand-outs, and minor characters played by John Carroll Lynch and Marisa Tomei also manage to get in on the action with memorable scenes.

It's sad, happy, funny, silly, weird and cheesy. It's also absolutely brilliant.