Crazy, Stupid, Love


3.5/4

Starring: Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon

Rated PG-13 for Coarse Humor, Sexual Content, and Language

“Crazy, Stupid, Love” is a romantic comedy that has more twists than your average film noir, and where the relationships are so intertwined that you’d need a grid to figure them all out if the movie were less than perfectly constructed.  There are a number of big laughs, and few contrivances, making this movie not only a good romantic comedy, but a great one.

Although the film is marked as being about Carell, Moore and Gosling, it’s really about the whole Weaver family (plus Gosling and Stone).  Cal Weaver (Carell) has just been dumped by Emily (Moore), his wife of 25 years.  Newly single, he decides to wallow in his sorrows and alcohol, when he is spotted by ladies man Jacob (Gosling).  Jacob takes him under his wing, transforming the doormat into a player.  Meanwhile, his young son, Robbie (Jonah Bobo) is in love with his babysitter, Jessica (Analeigh Tipton), who is in turn in love with Cal.  Meanwhile, Jacob the Lothario is rethinking his lifestyle while he is falling for a young lawyer named Hannah (Stone), so he turns to none other than Cal for advice.

For a movie that is so complex, the film is never confusing.  The script, written by Dan Fogelman, gives the characters a few layers, but it also relies on the actors to pick up the rest of the slack.  With a cast like this, it’s not surprising that all of them are up to the task.

Steve Carell gives a surprisingly mature performance.  It’s not likely to get him Oscar attention, but he’s quite effective.  Julianne Moore gives another great performance as Emily, a woman who has only dated one man in her entire life, and she’s not certain whether or not she actually wants a divorce.  At first glance, the understated Ryan Gosling may not seem like the right person to play a ladies’ man, but it doesn’t take long for one to realize that he is exactly the right person for the role.  He plays Jacob with a quiet, but undeniable self-confidence, and yet Gosling manages to give him a measure of self-doubt and vulnerability.  Also impressive are Jonah Bobo and Analeigh Tipton.  They are reflections of Cal and Emily when they first met, and Robbie has more wisdom about love than any of the other characters.  Stone continues to prove why she’s on her way to the A-list, and Kevin Bacon provides solid support in the small role of Emily’s new boyfriend.  The only one who doesn’t work is surprisingly Marisa Tomei.  Tomei is usually brilliant in every role she plays, but despite getting a few laughs, she’s way over-the-top as Cal’s first date.  Finally, Liza Lapira has a number of very funny scenes as Hannah’s girlfriend, Liz.

Ensemble films are notoriously hard to get right.  The filmmakers must constantly juggle many characters and their storylines to give them all their due, and there’s more of a danger than usual for a film to lose focus or to become uneven.  For the most part, directors Glenn Ficara and John Requa do a solid job.  There are times when Carell takes the stage for too long, but all the stories are told effectively with no glaring plotholes.  For that alone, Fogelman, Ficara and Requa should be applauded.

There’s something in this film for everyone.  Romance, comedy and drama are all in evidence, and the film contains a number of truthful elements without veering into melodrama.  This is the best romantic comedy/drama since Ben Younger’s “Prime” (and that was released six years ago).

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