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There
are lots of movies
that come out that
hit spots and miss
spots. They come
close to becoming
great but instead
just settle for
good.
Crazy
Stupid Love
is one of those
movies. There are
several moments
where the movie hits
its mark perfectly.
It’s written
wonderfully and
directed just as
well. And Steve
Carell delivers one
of the best
performances that
he’s ever done.
Those
are all great things
with Crazy Stupid
Love.
But for every plot
twist and funny
moment there’s an
awkward instance
where things don’t
quite make sense or
a scene drags on for
a few extra minutes.
There are flashes of
brilliance
contrasted with
brief moments of
that brilliance
fading to black.
Cal Weaver is a
normal 44 year old
guy. He’s the
typical 44 year old
guy really. He’s a
dedicated father and
to a degree husband.
He takes care of his
house and his lawn
and he goes to work
to provide for his
family. But he’s
lost the passion for
his life by being
complacent. He
thinks he’s happy
and he thinks his
wife Emily is happy
too, turns out
that’s not the case.
In the middle of a
crowded restaurant
in an awkward
moment, Emily blurts
out that she wants a
divorce and she’s
had an affair. A
distraught Cal
attempts to move on
from his night of
horror by drowning
himself in drinks at
a trendy bar. It’s
at the bar that he
meets Jacob Palmer,
played by Ryan
Gosling. Jacob is
apparently the best
ladies man alive at
the moment and
instead of making
fun of Cal and
furthering his
misery, Jacob takes
him under his wing
and teaches him his
craft. Of course you
know where this is
going… Emily and Cal
attempt to rekindle
things, Jacob falls
in love, and
everyone ends up
somewhat happy at
the end of the
story.
This is a
wonderfully written
movie by Dan
Fogelman. His
characters are
realistic to the
bone. Everything
that’s written as
far as dialogue is
written perfectly by
Fogelman and
delivered extremely
well by the cast of
the movie. It’s not
just what’s being
said by the
characters though,
it’s the subtle nods
to all of the
wonderful twists and
turns that are
reality show worthy.
You’ll be
overly-involved in
the story and the
emotions of all the
characters that you
won’t be paying
attention and then
you’ll get a very
nice shock moment.
It’s fun to watch on
the screen and
that’s due to
Fogelman’s credit.
He’s not alone in
his work here
though- directors
Glenn Ficarra and
John Riqua made a
very cool movie.
There’s nothing
overly innovative
with the camera work
but they are just as
responsible for
providing those nods
and letting the
actors depict that
emotion. The actors
do depict that
emotion too. Steve
Carell is wonderful
as Cal. Julianne
Moore and Emma Stone
are amazing as Emily
and Hannah. And Ryan
Gosling, who I
thought I was going
to despise in this
movie, is incredibly
funny. Honestly, he
knocks it out of the
park. He and Marissa
Tomei stole the show
for me and provided
excellent backup for
Carell.
Crazy
Stupid Love
never has a moment
where it falls flat
but it does stumble
in a few places.
Those places are
somewhat frequent
but the good news is
they never last that
long. There are way
too many moments in
suburbia where
things are
accompanied by indie
music. It’s a staple
of artistic movie
directors everywhere
and it should
probably be skipped
over next time. It’s
those moments and
moments where scenes
last 2-3 minutes
longer than they
should that trip-up
Crazy
Stupid Love.
Keep in mind it
never falls, it just
stumbles.
The bonus features
with the blu-ray
aren’t exactly
abundant. There are
twelve minutes of
deleted scenes that
you can be grateful
that were deleted
out of the final
cut. Then there are
two different six
minute fluff pieces
that have the actors
talking about their
characters. That’s
what there is here,
nothing more. You
can’t say there
should be more, but
Steve Carell
outtakes are the
best and it would
have been nice to
get those on the blu-ray.
Crazy
Stupid Love
is a good romantic
comedy. It’s not
predictable, the
acting is wonderful
and the writing and
direction are
superb. Sure there
are a few dull
moments and yes even
a few dumb ones but
the final product is
a great and it’s
definitely worth
checking out on a
date night.
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