Crazy, Stupid, Love is a sweet romantic comedy that covers all ages. It is about people in crisis who are either trying to find, hold on to, or first discovering love. All of the characters are good-hearted people and there is something in each one that we can all recognize and connect with. Director Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (I Love You, Phillip Morris) leave out raunch and language and create a story that is not only funny, but touching as well. It is full of charm and intelligence, and is able to be unpredictable yet honest when it comes to people and their complications with love.
Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) appears to be living the “dream”: a good job, terrific kids, and a long-lasting marriage to his beautiful wife and high-school sweetheart Emily (Julianne Moore). However, that dream is shattered when he finds out Emily has cheated on him and wants a divorce. In a split second, Cal’s life begins to unravel at a pretty fast rate. He is a straight-laced guy who hasn’t dated in over 20 years and wears khakis with white sneakers. He desperately needs help, and he finds it in Jacob (Ryan Gosling), a handsome, seductive ladies man who wears three-piece suits.
Cal visits a fancy local pickup bar every night, but instead of finding someone new, he only begins to cry and complain about the past and pours out his heart to anyone who is around him. After a few nights, Jacob gets tired of hearing about it and decides to take him under his wing. He is going to give Cal his confidence back and make his ex-wife regret the day she ever cheated on him. But that is just part of this film’s story.
Jacob is smooth and knows he can pick up any woman and take her home. But once he meets Hannah (Emma Stone), his whole view of the world changes. Never has he fallen like this for a woman, and he enters an area that is not familiar to him. He finds himself willing to be committed and instead of the focus being on sex, they talk and laugh. It is a whole new experience for Jacob and he may need some advice himself. And Hannah is the type who thinks she is in control at all times. She has her career in place and soon plans to be married to a lawyer (Josh Groban), but things don’t go according to plan and an act of spontaneity brings her and Jacob together.
But Crazy, Stupid, Love is not just about these four main characters, it is full of small stories about different levels of love and that is the beauty of this film. There is Emily and Cal’s 13 year-old son, Robbie (Jonah Bobo), who has an intense, dedicated crush on the family babysitter (Analeigh Tipton), but the only problem is she has her own secret crush. Also, it is about Emily’s relationship with a hot-shot accountant (Kevin Bacon), the man who Emily cheated with and the reason the marriage ended. There is also the fling Cal has with Kate (Marisa Tomei), a teacher who gets turned on by honesty. Yet during all of this with Cal and Emily, there is still a love between those two that cannot all of a sudden be turned off.
It has been a long time since I have seen a cast like this and all of them are simply terrific, and each are an important piece to the puzzle. Carell, Moore, Stone, and Gosling shine the most and deliver strong performances. The chemistry between all of them is impressive, but Carell and Gosling really hit it off and their roles almost switch, but it is done so smooth and gentle that you barely even notice. And the simple fact that Gosling finally gets the chance to show how funny he can be is something brand new for all of us to enjoy. For Ficarra and Requa to have such a talented, dream cast, they use every person and make each situation just as important as the others. And how all of the scenarios are played out is hilarious, surprising, and actually makes sense. No character or scene is wasted in this film.
Crazy, Stupid, Love takes the rom-com formula and shakes it up a bit. It doesn’t escape all of the clichés, but it keeps you guessing and keeps itself pretty sharp all the way through. Love can be tough, heart-breaking, messy, and complex, and this film is willing to show all of that by providing a story that speaks from the heart while being fresh and insightful. With a rich story and a top-notch cast, this combination cannot be beat.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association and the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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