'Crazy, Stupid, Love'

'Crazy, Stupid, Love'  (PG-13)  (rental)

Writer: Dan Fogelman
Directors: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Analeigh Tipton, Jonah Bobo,
Kevin Bacon, John Carroll Lynch, Marissa Tomei

I really wanted to like "Crazy, Stupid, Love but I was annoyed how the movie keeps taking great chances and ruining it with many fake scenes and an ending that is bad television.  I actually cringed at the climax of this movie destroying some good performances and a chance at being a perceptive and realistic look at relationships. You have some likable actors but in Steve Carell and Julianne Moore they are given the type of roles each have done better before. You also have a sweet breakout performance by actress Analeigh Tipton and all is lost thanks to writer Dan Fogelman.

So why don't I want to pick on this movie and destroy it? Why am I rating a 2 star movie that fails worthy of a look on DVD or cable?  I couldn't stand how the story wraps up and how many bad cliches pop up but I am a regular movie going critic and there was a lot I liked. "Crazy, Stupid, Love" starts off very well telling the story of married couple Cal and Emily who are separating. They have a young daughter and a son who has a crush on his babysitter and that forms another sub plot. Early in the movie Jacob sees a beautiful woman that catches his eye and he tries to pick her up and fails. Her name is Hannah and later on Hannah will figure in another subplot as she finally hooks up with Jacob. So now you have interlocking stories of love and writer Dan Fogelman connects them and I think he has seen too many bad sitcoms.

I love the characters in this movie because they are all decent and nice and even the womanizer and a home wrecker played by Kevin Bacon are decent. There are moments full of great writing and in the beginning I was liking what I was seeing. Though as the story unfolds it gets worse and worse with developments that are false and would never happen in real life. I felt that the characters were trapped in a maze and were pulled by strings. In the end they are not given any respect and the ending becomes a amateurish slapstick fest. I also hated the speech that Cal's son gives at his 8th grade
graduation ceremony. What happens during the speech and what is said is so fake and silly and that speech and the awkward slapstick ending made me cringe.

Now there are many reasons I would reccomend you check this out when it is released on DVD or when you run into it on cable. The movie is almost saved by two of our best actors working today in Ryan Gosling who plays Jacob and Emma Stone who plays Hannah. Their scenes together are the best in the movie and strangely better written than Carell's and Moore's scenes together. Gosling is an amazing actor and this is his first pure commercial romantic comedy. Check out his performance in the blistering drama "Blue Valentine" and then in this movie and you will see maybe our best actor working today. Emma Stone is going to be a major force and star and she just has that "it" factor that pulls you in and she always lights up the screen. These two actors, just based on their sex appeal and star quality, almost save this weakly written movie.

There is also a natural, amazing debut performance by newcomer Analeigh Tipton as the babysitter. Along with Gosling and Stone her performance is magical and her assured and captivating performance almost saves the movie. We are looking at a new major player in Hollywood equal to Hailee Steinfeld in "True Grit".  I wish I could say the same for Steve Carell and Julianne Moore who get shafted here. Their scenes together are badly written and except for Carrel's early scenes with Gosling they are given stupid things to say and do. There are two movies in the same vein that showcased them better, "Dan In Real Life" for Carell and "The Kids Are All Right" for Moore. "Crazy, Stupid, Love" falls on it's face in the end and I have never seen a worse second half of a movie that started so strongly. I would not tell you to rush out and see this but if you want to see magical and electric performances that light up the screen then check out Gosling, Stone and Tipton in this movie. They are major game changers!

P.S. For much better romantic comedies starring these actors and better movies that "Crazy, Stupid, Love" resembles check out

"Love, Actually"
"Dan In Real Life" if you want to see Carell's best performance of his career so far.
"The Kids Are All Right"
"Easy A"

Speaking of Emma Stone, to me she has now inherited the throne passed on from Audrey Hepburn to Jodie Foster to Michelle Pfeiffer to Julia Roberts to Jennifer Garner to Rachel McAdams and now to Stone of actresses I have fallen in love with and you should too. Emma Stone like those actresses is captivating and amazing and the real deal folks!