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This movie is a mix of different genres – romantic, comedy, and drama. No doubt, “Crazy Stupid Love” has its darker sides, but most of the time, it manages to remain stress-free and heartwarming. The film possesses a lot of satire which in fact, aims to heal. No character in the movie has ill intentions and it’s positive from start to end. Not only, is marriage loved but also, the characters go through their share of infidelity and in the end, are relieved to find that it was all for nothing.
The centerpiece of the film is no doubt, the cast. I’ll admit that I recently started loving Steve Carell. Emma Stone is enchanting as always and it looks as if Julianne Moore has some frozen emotions which she needs to warm up to in the film. The film does have teenage sweethearts who are adorable. When Marisa Tomei makes an entrance, there is bound to be a snowstorm of joy and laughter because wherever this lady walks, she brings magic with her.
But the surprise is Ryan Gosling. He is a fabulous actor in my opinion, and I have been watching him perform everything from an anti-Semite (“The Believer“) to a child murderer (“Murder by Numbers“) to a man in love with a sex doll (“Lars and the Real Girl“). In “Blue Valentine” (2010), he portrays an imperfect husband. But I couldn’t see him as a lounge lizard and a seducer, and in “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” he has so much bullshit as if he had been Zach Galifianakis all his life.
The movie starts with a whopper. Cal (Steve Carell) is having a conversation with his wife Emily (Julianne Moore) when he asks her: What do you want for dessert? “A divorce,” she replies. Poor Cal, who has gotten lazy about his marriage, looks bewildered. As are his children especially the 113-year-old Robie (Jonah Bobo) who has a crush on Jessica (Analeigh Tipton), the 17-year-old babysitter.
Cal tries to ease his grief at an upscale cocktail lounge, trying to distract himself in a place that has an unfeasible assortment of women. Jacob (Ryan Gosling) encounters Cal and notices his wretched demeanor at the bar. As every womanizing character goes, this gent appears to part with a different class each evening. He eavesdrops on Cal’s self-deprecating monologues and feels the need to offer him a few pointers, starting with the moronic techniques of “how to pick up ladies,” culminating in a cringe-worthy makeover set to music. He gets a proper haircut, new shoes, shirts, and suits to go with them.
Kevin Bacon captures the essence of my wife’s new love interest (quote) rather aptly. There isn’t much commentary on this because we’re saved from witnessing how tender Emily would be with him, as that may contradict the slowly unfolding structure of the narrative.
We have two generations who are looking for love and success, and with Robbie in the picture desperately hoping for Jessica who is his love interest and has higher aspirations than Robbie, even though she doesn’t notice him, he is doing a winsome job. On the other Cal is trained by Jacob and manages to have sexual encounters with Kate Marisa Tomei who is not only extremely beautiful but is also a talented sexual performer and a very lively and charming.” Things take a turn, however, when Jacob meets Hannah at the bar one night. What was unexpected was his feeling of falling in love, a feeling he thought he was incapable of.
These many strands are woven together in a clever screenplay by Dan Fogelman that boasts their demands, holds their pairs, and indeed gives Steve Bruce Carell the chance to speak to stunningly beautiful Tomei with words that would shake the house and have such moments of surprise that they are called oh-my-god moments.
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