A dream cast – Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore and Emma Stone alongside 14 year-old Jonah Bobo – and a tight, witty script with understated direction makes the feel-good Crazy Stupid Love one of the best comedies of the year.
No longer a loving couple
As Emily Weaver (Moore) files for divorce from her high school love, Cal (Carell), their adolescent 12 year-old son is declaring undying love for Jessica the babysitter, a 'mere' four years his senior.
Cal Weaver goes off the rails, Robbie never gives up. And that’s the advice the son gives to his father. But it takes Cal a long time to hear. Instead, he finds solace in the bottom of several (long) glasses of vodka and cranberry at a trendy city bar.
Boredom has driven the loving married couple apart, where both had taken each other for granted. Emily’s brief fling with David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon) was as meaningful as seeing Twilight on her own.
But the wealthy, uber-sexed-up Jacob (Gosling) has plans for Cal. Tired of hearing the forty-something talking aloud at the bar about his wife’s infidelity, Jacob decides to do something about it. Whisking Cal and his credit card off to the mall, Steve Carell is given a total make-over – with only 'positive' results.
A one-woman man suddenly becomes the 'predator extraordinaire' – just as Jacob meets the woman he didn’t know he was waiting for (Emma Stone). But Cal’s is a lonely existence – in spite of the full diary and bevy of beautiful women, he still slips into the family home at night to prune the roses and aerate the lawn. And Emily is certainly no happier, in spite of attempting something a little more with Lindhagen.
A perfect cast in Crazy Stupid Love
Romantic inter-generational confusion ensues as unexpected coincidences (which some critics have somewhat boringly labeled as contrived) result – and not always light-hearted. One of the strengths of Crazy Stupid Love is between the laughs are definite glimpses of pain – the hound-dog Julianne Moore in particular. And whilst the scenes with Marisa Tomei are hilarious, there’s no doubting the depth of pain behind the public façade of the sexually rampant middle-school teacher.
The cast are pitch-perfect with a particular pleasure in seeing Ryan Gosling in a much more light-hearted role than is the norm for the actor. The sparks fly throughout and whilst the adults most definitely shine, Jonah Bobo and Analeigh Tipton as Jessica are a delight.
Crazy Stupid Love is a refreshing, PG adult-comedy that most definitely achieves what it sets out to do – entertain. Admittedly, it palls for a short period 40 minutes or so in as Carell seems to have gone as far as he can, but a new storyline injects new life, new comedy and new pathos. And in a poor year for big budget musicals and comedies, the feature could well find itself well represented at the Golden Globes.
Personal rating: 3.5 stars
Crazy Stupid Love
- Directed by Glenn Ficarra (I Love You Phillip Morris), John Regua (I Love You Phillip Morris)
- Written by Dan Fogelman (Cars 1 & 2, Tangled)
- Produced by Steve Carell (The Office – TV), Denise Di Novi (The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, Edward Scissorhands)
- Starring Steve Carell (The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Get Smart), Ryan Gosling (Drive, The Ides of March), Julianne Moore (Far From Heaven, The Kids Are All Right), Emma Stone (The Help, Easy A)
Keith Lawrence - Published writer of articles in magazines, newspapers and websites, predominantly on culture, alongside ghostwriter/editor/copywriter.
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