Crazy, Stupid, Love review

Cal: How about we say what we want on three? One, two, three. 
Emily: I want a divorce. 
Cal: [at the same time] Creme brulee. 

Directors: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
(2011)

As far as being predictable goes, the rom com subgenre is as unsurprising as you can get. Burdened with bad characters, shallow writing and predictable, blindingly obvious conventions, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. Every once in a while though, something special comes along, making the genre seem a little bit brighter. This film is none other than Crazy stupid love, undoubtedly one of the highlights of the genre.

Crazy stupid love is about Cal (Steve Carell) and his imploding life after his wife and childhood sweetheart Emily (Julianne Moore) admits to cheating on him with co worker David Lindhagan (Kevin Bacon), and wants a divorce. His life crumbles, and he idly spends his days moping in a bar, telling everyone how David Lindhagen ‘cuckolded’ him. This very same bar is the haunt of Jacob (Ryan Gosling) a smooth talking womanizer. Being the nice guy he is, Jacob sees Cal drowning, and promptly saves him from his sorrows. He takes Cal under his wing and teaches him his womanizing ways, from dress sense to chat up lines. Cal’s conquest to sort his life out is the backbone of the film, and is as tender and bittersweet as a story can get.

 Branching off from this is the story of teenage babysitter Jessica (Analeigh Tipton) who has a crush on Cal, while his son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) has a crush on her. Separate from this is the excellent Emma stone as Hannah, an aspiring law student who takes Jacobs eye. While one would think that this many plot arcs would make for a messy narrative, it strangely never devolves to this. Each is sufficiently developed and given just enough screen time to mature correctly. This results in  a delicate, weaving narrative that is always interesting but never difficult, a balance that directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa have struck perfectly. In one of the best scenes in the film, all these strands collide, making for hilarious laugh out loud antics. To say more would spoil things, but it’s needless to say you’ll know it when it happens.

The performances too, are sublime . Carell is at his best here, he’s funny and geeky, expressive yet subtle. The way he blends these emotions gives a lot of depth to the character. Gosling is on fine form as well, determined to show his acting chops. He oozes charisma with his smooth pickup lines and a dapper dress sense. He’s crafts an effortlessly likeable character and an absolute scene stealer, no mean feat when up against Carrell. But he also puts emotion behind his character, superbly portrayed in a scene where he drops his womanizer attitude, revealing a gentle and soft man underneath. This level of brilliance extends to the rest of the cast too. Emma stone, Marisa Tomei, Kevin bacon, Julianne Moore; each of them bring a wealth of substance to their respective roles.

 The result of this is that each main character feels fully fleshed out, a far cry from a great deal of rom coms. CSL doesn’t exploit its emotional moments to cheaply tug on the heartstrings of emotionally weak women. Instead it develops them excellently, giving depth to the story and characters. It exposes their fears and their loves, the situations they are in are very real, if a little cliché. This is really what sets CSL apart from the dregs of a poor genre, it has real heart.

Unfortunately, crazy stupid love has its issues. Carrel and gosling dominate the majority of the screen time here and considering the quality of the assemble, it can feel like a waste of talent. The climax doesn’t quite live up to the standards of the rest of the film either. It works, but comes across as a little cheesy. This is a minor blip though, as crazy stupid love’s ending transcends in genre, eschewing the usual ending of rom coms for something more complex. That’s not necessarily saying that grim and miserable film, but it feels more real and grounded that practically all similar films out there. Needless to say, it also proves that love is a little stupid, and definitely crazy.

8