‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’

Directors: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa

Starring: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone

4/5 popcorns

Disarmingly funny and zany, ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ isn’t just another romantic comedy. There is no melodrama or idealistic streak here. The film’s honest commentary on life and relationships offers a refreshing look at the collision of marital devotion and bachelorhood.

Every shot of the soon-to-be-divorced, former family man Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) in the film’s middle act heightens his conflicting feelings. Even as he woos an endless procession of attractive singles, he cannot let go of the woman who let him go. The tutelage of a notorious ladies’ man makes Cal popular but also unsatisfied, and all his facial expressions are imbued with guilt and a longing for his eternal loved one, Emily (Julianne Moore). The exciting single’s lifestyle is neatly fleshed out, but the allure of marriage, of comfort, is coded in Cal and Emily’s mannerisms and attitudes.

In the first scene, Cal finds out his wife of 25 years has been sleeping with a co-worker, the not-entirely-evil-but-still-sleazy David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon). The confused Emily doesn’t exactly know where her head and heart are at. She asks Cal for a divorce.

While drowning his sorrows in vodka cranberries at an unsuitably hip bar, Cal is socially adopted by womanizer Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). The handsome and smooth Jacob strips away Cal’s saggy corduroy jacket and beloved New Balance sneakers, transforming him into a three-piece suit and suede loafers man who beds broads daily.

Cal initially finds his newfound freedom exciting, but he frequently returns to his old backyard at night to water the plants while his family sleeps. Cal’s 13-year-old son, Robbie (Jonah Bobo), has love issues of his own: He’s enamored with his 17-year-old babysitter, Jessica (Analeigh Tipton), who has feelings for his dad. When Jacob falls for the smart and lovable Hannah (Emma Stone), relationships start to complicate one another, illustrating the second adjective in the film’s title.

Funny but not quite hilarious, the film falls victim to the expected third-act comedy breakdown. Cal delivers a numbingly cliché-muddled speech about true love. Disappointingly contrived, the last ten minutes do not do justice to the film’s beginning.

The charming cast keeps up the film’s momentum. With his perfect balance of wit and genuine emotion, Carell is at the top of his game in the endearing everyman role. The charismatic Gosling and Stone are pitch-perfect in Fogelman’s wry, offbeat, character-driven script. Cinematographer Andrew Dunn, whose credits include critics’ darlings ‘Gosford Park’ (2001) and ‘Precious’ (2009), perfectly captures the warmth of Southern California in every frame.

Save for a stale ending, ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ is devoid of recycled dialogue and characters, qualifying it as a must-see. Heck, the painfully unoriginal final act helps make the preceding moments of charm shine even brighter.

smlittma@syr.edu

Published on August 13, 2011 at 12:00 pm