As a subcategory of the horror genre, the exorcism film does not have the best reputation. For every The Exorcist, there are a dozen Posessed’s and Beyond the Door’s. Yet, when done well, there is rarely something as profoundly [...]
In the forties, the American family was established with the concept of the “Nuclear Family.” Two smiling parents were joined by two smiling children. Now, with a divorce rate that sees half of all marriages broken, the American family looks quite a bit different, and Love is a whole new game. A Crazy, Stupid, Love game.
Crazy, Stupid, Love is the story of a divorce, and the reactions that follow. Cal (Steve Carell) is a standard guy wearing oversize stonewashed jeans and baggy pastel-colored polo shirts. When his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore) asks for a divorce, it comes as a surprise. Cal’s downward spiral is intercepted by the tomcat Jacob (Ryan Gosling), whose womanizing methods and collection of beautifully tailored suits is meant to cure Cal’s romantic woes.
Most of what the film sets in front of its viewers is the same saccharin feel-good formula of a standard romantic comedy. However, it fleshes out the sometimes unimaginative script with a fantastic cast. Carell plays Cal with a poignant sadness bordering on mania. It is refreshing to see him take on a role with a more dramatic undercurrent, where the annoying ticks he develops in comedies appear more like attributes of a fully developed character. He manages to deliver his jokes here with a wry humor that doesn’t reach his eyes.
The film’s other standout quality is the relationship between Cal and his mentor. Gosling sheds his quirky loner M.O. (see The Notebook, Blue Valentine) for a surprisingly masculine role as Jacob, who prowls the night scene and takes home women nightly with a collection of charming witticisms. His wardrobe should be listed as a character in the film, as tongue-in-cheek body shots take up a sizable chunk of the film.
It is not surprising that his chemistry with Hannah (the magnetic Emma Stone) becomes the most attractive part of the film. Stone, playing a young lawyer with a history of “PG-13” relationships, uses her fresh face and husky voice to their full potential. The best scene by far in the film involves Stone and Gosling in a of cracking banter and organic laughter.
Despite the two actors’ delightful charisma, the attention given to their new “love” cheapens the film’s message. Where Cal and Emily’s more mature relationship groans and weeps with age, the film seems afraid to fully embrace the melancholy of its subject. As if to numb the pain, it throws the Hannah and Jacob pair into the equation, paying homage to the womanizer myth, which tells women to seek out men like Jacob under the illusion that, while he may treat women worse than his finely pressed shirts, his behavior will change when he meets the right one. While the film attempts to establish Cal’s accordance with Jacob as something that is good for his confidence but finally only serves to give him perspective, the glorification of Jacob’s new romance negates this message, instead calling the viewer’s attention to the new, young, and flashy.
In the end, a film that could have been great, based upon a talented cast and touching on important concepts, unravels itself into the newest attempt at Garden State (and a straining attempt at the Garden State soundtrack). While Cal’s account is poignant from afar, you’d have to be crazy and stupid to believe in this mediocre love story.
Crazy, Stupid, Love is the story of a divorce, and the reactions that follow. Cal (Steve Carell) is a standard guy wearing oversize stonewashed jeans and baggy pastel-colored polo shirts. When his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore) asks for a divorce, it comes as a surprise. Cal’s downward spiral is intercepted by the tomcat Jacob (Ryan Gosling), whose womanizing methods and collection of beautifully tailored suits is meant to cure Cal’s romantic woes.
Most of what the film sets in front of its viewers is the same saccharin feel-good formula of a standard romantic comedy. However, it fleshes out the sometimes unimaginative script with a fantastic cast. Carell plays Cal with a poignant sadness bordering on mania. It is refreshing to see him take on a role with a more dramatic undercurrent, where the annoying ticks he develops in comedies appear more like attributes of a fully developed character. He manages to deliver his jokes here with a wry humor that doesn’t reach his eyes.
The film’s other standout quality is the relationship between Cal and his mentor. Gosling sheds his quirky loner M.O. (see The Notebook, Blue Valentine) for a surprisingly masculine role as Jacob, who prowls the night scene and takes home women nightly with a collection of charming witticisms. His wardrobe should be listed as a character in the film, as tongue-in-cheek body shots take up a sizable chunk of the film.
It is not surprising that his chemistry with Hannah (the magnetic Emma Stone) becomes the most attractive part of the film. Stone, playing a young lawyer with a history of “PG-13” relationships, uses her fresh face and husky voice to their full potential. The best scene by far in the film involves Stone and Gosling in a of cracking banter and organic laughter.
Despite the two actors’ delightful charisma, the attention given to their new “love” cheapens the film’s message. Where Cal and Emily’s more mature relationship groans and weeps with age, the film seems afraid to fully embrace the melancholy of its subject. As if to numb the pain, it throws the Hannah and Jacob pair into the equation, paying homage to the womanizer myth, which tells women to seek out men like Jacob under the illusion that, while he may treat women worse than his finely pressed shirts, his behavior will change when he meets the right one. While the film attempts to establish Cal’s accordance with Jacob as something that is good for his confidence but finally only serves to give him perspective, the glorification of Jacob’s new romance negates this message, instead calling the viewer’s attention to the new, young, and flashy.
In the end, a film that could have been great, based upon a talented cast and touching on important concepts, unravels itself into the newest attempt at Garden State (and a straining attempt at the Garden State soundtrack). While Cal’s account is poignant from afar, you’d have to be crazy and stupid to believe in this mediocre love story.
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