Quick bit of business to take care of this morning and then I can tell you the story behind today’s comic.

Remember my Captain America comic last week? I talked about having an alternative punchline in my back pocket and talked about producing a second comic for it?

Well, I was getting ready for Wizard World Chicago last week, so it kind of got away from me. But yesterday evening I had a little extra time to throw something together. So here you go! Check it out and enjoy!

I’m actually kind of shocked that I was able to produce that comic along with today’s comic. I don’t know if in 9 years I’ve ever done two comics on the same day or not.

That’s something to take note of… on Friday, August 5, Theater Hopper will celebrate it’s 9th anniversary. That’s nuts! 9 years? I’ve had this comic longer than any FULL TIME job I’ve ever had.

Kind of says a lot about my generation, doesn’t it?

I don’t know if I have anything special planned to mark the celebration other than I have a script for Cowboys and Aliens kicking around in my head that I would like to get to before it becomes untimely. Considering James Bond and Han Solo broke even with The Smurfs this weekend, I don’t know that it’s going to be around much longer. I haven’t heard very much in terms of word-of-mouth.

One movie I DID see this weekend was Crazy Stupid Love. And the exchange in today’s comic was 100% for real. That’s right. I actually walked up to the ticket booth and asked for two tickets for “Crazy SEXY Love.” Which, when you think about it, kind of sounds like a 1960’s comedy starring Michael Caine.

However, unlike Comic Tom who knew he tripped up and tried to correct himself, I stood in front of the box office confident that “Crazy SEXY Love” was the correct title of the movie. I had to wait for the attendant to correct me. Not embarrassing at all!

Tickets retrieved, Cami threw me a wink and asked me what I was thinking about and – at that point – I figured it was best just to own it.

100% verbatim, folks! Sometimes these things just write themselves!

So… how was the movie? I had several people ask me that question after I tweeted “Am I the only dude here?” shortly before the movie started.

I can tell you this: Crazy Stupid Love certainly has a lot on its mind for the first two act. It’s juggling a lot of characters and has a lot to say about the nature of relationships. Everything from one-night-stands to high school sweethearts with long-term relationships.

As someone who married his high school sweetheart, the movie really spoke to me and gave me an interesting outside perspective from a couple maybe 10 years ahead of us.

I’m not saying Cami and I are anything like the couple played by Steve Carrel and Julianne Moore. I’m just saying that when it comes two couples who kind of started out at the same place, it’s interesting to compare and contrast where things might diverge.

I’m not explaining that very well, so I’ll drop it.

I can say definitively that Ryan Gosling walks away with this movie. A very tight, controlled performance of a character that is by his nature a very loose and improvisational. Watching him on screen, I became convinced of two things: 1.) I need to start lifting weights and 2.) I need to find a reputable tailor.

For some additional insights about Gosling’s performance, read Owen Gleiberman’s article over at Entertainment Weekly. He pretty much hits it right on the head.

Gosling’s scenes with Emma Stone’s are some of the movie’s best and I wish they spent more time exploring their relationship rather than hopping around from couple to couple. I found Gosling and Stone to be very relaxed and authentic around each other and it was a joy to watch.

This said, I will confess that the movie completely falls apart for me in the third act. There’s a dramatic shift in tone near the end and the movie practically becomes an outright farce. Coupled with some truly befuddling choices that force the characters to behave in a manner that no human being would actually behave… well, it left me a little cold.

The film salvages itself slightly in the final scene. But most of that third act is a real dog and borderline insulting considering how much I had invested in the characters up to that point.

I will say that Cami loved the movie outright. Considering I loved roughly 2/3rds of the movie, I still think it’s probably worth your time to check out. Despite its flaws, Crazy Stupid Love feels like the first “adult” movie I’ve seen in ages. It’s certainly the most adult film so far this summer.

Your mileage may vary, of course. Part of me kind of wonders if you have to recognize something in the relationships depicted in the film to get the most out of it. Married 10 years, a father of two, I’m certainly in a different place with my relationship than, say, someone in their 20’s is. But maybe there’s a little something for everyone here.

As long as you have your radar up for the curve ball in the third act, you’ll probably be fine.

Did anyone else see Crazy Stupid Love this weekend? What were your thoughts? Leave your comments below!