2011

140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW

Wonderful & honest film. Avoids being too proud of itself with winning performances by all. Pacing is uneven. Nearly forgot multiple plots.

Spoiler-free Movie Review of Crazy, Stupid, Love.:

(#140RVW published 9/10/2012; full review published July 12, 2014)

The success of this movie shouldn’t be surprising. All of the leads are very good and genuinely likable actors. Any one of them could have anchored this film. The script is fantastic, with excellent dialogue by screenwriter Dan Fogelman.

Although nearly all of the characters are interesting, the movie focuses on Carrell’s Cal Weaver, separated from his wife Emily (Moore) and miserable. After humiliating himself repeatedly at a local singles bar, he is taken under the wing of lothario Jacob Palmer (Gosling), who attempts to mold Cal into a player. The scenes with Jacob & Cal are among the film’s high points.

Another story involves Jacob’s increasing fascination with Hannah (Stone), an unfiltered woman causing him to rethink his approach. A further story involves Emily trying to make it work with David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon), with whom she had an affair that ended her marriage. And then another storyline has Cal & Emily’s son falling for his babysitter, while she pines for Cal. And then another – forget it. You can see the problem; there is a lot going on here – maybe too much. All of the pieces are great, but there may be a few too many threads, which leads to a long run time.

Crazy, Stupid, Love is an awful lot of fun and one I’ve stopped on while flipping more times than is probably healthy. Recommended.

Poster:

Trailer:

Bechdel Test:

Fail

The Representation Test Score: C (5 pts)

(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

[schema type=”movie” name=”Crazy, Stupid, Love” description=”A middle-aged husband’s life changes dramatically when his wife asks him for a divorce. He seeks to rediscover his manhood with the help of a newfound friend, Jacob, learning to pick up girls at bars.” director_1=” Glenn Ficarra” director_2=” John Requa”  actor_1=”Steve Carrell” actor_2=”Ryan Gosling” actor_3=”Julianne Moore” actor_4=”Emma Stone”]

Main Cast	Steve Carell Cal Weaver, Ryan Gosling Jacob Palmer, Julianne Moore Emily Weaver, Emma Stone Hannah
Rating	PG-13
Release Date	Fri 29 Jul 2011 UTC
Director	Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Genres	Comedy, Drama, Romance
Plot	A middle-aged husband’s life changes dramatically when his wife asks him for a divorce. He seeks to rediscover his manhood with the help of a newfound friend, Jacob, learning to pick up girls at bars.
Poster
Runtime	118
Tagline	This Is Crazy
Writers	Dan Fogelman (written by)
Year	2011