Movie Review - Crazy, Stupid, Love

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

Starring Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, Analeigh Tipton, Jonah Bobo, and Kevin Bacon

Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa

I know full well that Crazy, Stupid, Love contains a ton of the typical romantic comedy clichés and I know full well that this fact should annoy me.  Instead, somehow screenwriter Dan Fogelman (who wrote my #2 film last year, Tangled), directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, and a winning cast came together and have crafted a smaller-scale American version of Love, Actually that works just as well as that modern British classic.

The film opens with forty-something Cal (Steve Carell) being told by his wife of over twenty years Emily (Julianne Moore) that she has had an affair and wants a divorce.  Cal's completely devastated and heartbroken and finds himself drowning his sorrows at a trendy bar where he meets the suave and debonair playboy Jacob (Ryan Gosling) who (when he's not going home with a different lady every night) attempts to assist Cal in regaining his manhood after having suppressed it for so many years as a married man.

Cal's not the only one with love troubles...in fact that apple doesn't fall far from the family tree as his thirteen year-old son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) finds himself crushing on his seventeen year-old babysitter Jessica (Analeigh Tipton).  Of course, things can't go smoothly in a romantic comedy and, in this case, Jessica is herself crushing on an older man...Robbie's father, Cal.

Our final tale revolves around Hannah (Emma Stone), a law student who is in a relationship with the rather serious Richard (singer Josh Groban).  Despite prodding from her best friend (a quite funny Liza Lapira who makes the most of what is essentially a throwaway role), Hannah refuses to move on from Richard even when the sexy and charming Jacob (remember him from Storyline #1 above?) hits on her.

Not surprisingly, and in the grand tradition of romantic comedies like this, these storylines will intertwine and yield some interesting results.  Fortunately, Crazy, Stupid, Love is successful in its interweaving and screenwriter Fogelman reveals things and brings things together at just the right times to make this flick flow at a great pace.  Fogelman should also receive credit for crafting a film that is all about sex and the feelings behind the act, but never slips into raunch or debauchery.  This is a comedy about adult situations and emotions and the film refreshingly allows the characters to all act as adults.  Yes, some are a little wackier than others, but the comedy doesn't stem from gross-out humor, instead coming from realistic reactions to unfolding situations.

Helping the directors achieve their humorous success is a fine ensemble of talented actors with nary a dud in the bunch.  Steve Carell is certainly at his finest here, playing Cal as a guy who's genuinely in disbelief that his lifelong love has found solace in the arms of another man.  He's pissed off at his wife, but in his eyes (and in a monologue he states as the film progresses), you can see that he's angry at himself for allowing things to slip to the point where she felt the need to cheat.

Equally appealing is Julianne Moore who brings a believability to her role that rings true to me.  The fact that we don't hate her Emily is a testament to the fact that she somehow manages to make us comprehend why she'd cheat on Cal even if we don't approve of her indiscretion.  

As if those two lead performances weren't enough, Ryan Gosling probably just captured RyMickey's "Best Rising Hollywood Actor" award after his back-to-back completely opposite-spectrum performances in this and last year's Blue Valentine.  Here, Gosling certainly evokes the most laughs as the sometimes over-the-top lothario, but his Jacob has a shocking amount of heart.  Roles like this sometimes grow irksome very quickly, but despite Jacob's take charge attitude when it comes to "making over" the unkempt Cal, we never once get the feeling that he's being condescending to the guy (which would typically be the way every other screenwriter would've crafted the character).

I could go on and on and write paragraphs about the lovely Emma Stone, the sexy Marisa Tomei, the charming Analeigh Tipton, and the lovelorn Jonah Bobo who all manage to make there never be a boring, bland moment in this flick.  But I've already rambled on too long.  Instead, I'll just say that despite a treacly ending (that still somehow manages to work), Crazy, Stupid, Love does enough other good stuff that I'm willing to give it a little bit of a pass on its denouement.  This is a movie that admits love can come with its share of frustrations, but also carries with it passion, sincerity, meaningful connections, and a whole lot of heart.  Yes, it's perhaps overly optimistic about love (very much the antithesis of the aforementioned Blue Valentine), but the fairy tale notion of love that is sometimes depicted here isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Without a doubt in my mind, this is a movie that I can't imagine won't be near the top (or perhaps even claim the top spot) on my year end list.  Yes, it's that good.  Get yourself to this one...you'll laugh, you'll find yourself caring about characters you've never met before, and you'll just plain and simply feel good after watching it.

The RyMickey Rating:  A