Adam Collins posted on August 02, 2011 09:30
The trailer for Crazy, Stupid, Love has been shown before damn near every movie for the past four months. I loved the trailer immediately and could not wait to see it. The Wife wanted to see the movie partially because she thought it looked good and partially because she was glad that she wouldn’t have to see the trailer anymore. This is where we went wrong. We had high expectations.
Crazy, Stupid, Love opens with Cal (Steve Carell) and Emily (Julianne Moore) sitting at a table in a restaurant. This scene looks exactly the same as the opening scene of Carell’s last romantic comedy, Date Night. But, that is where the comparisons end. CSL follows an entirely different path than Date Night. It wonders, what would have happened to Fey and Carell if they hadn’t had such a zany night? Emily drops the bomb that she wants a divorce. This pushes Cal into a bar to drown his sorrows. Here, he meets ladies man Jacob (Ryan Gosling). Jacob decides to teach Cal how to reclaim his manliness.
On the other side, Hannah (Emma Stone) deflects the advances of Jacob at their first encounter, in lieu of her stick-in-the-mud lawyer boyfriend. Once she passes the bar, she realizes that her boyfriend sucks, and decides to go for Jacob. But now, Jacob does not know what to do. He thinks he is in love. So, he seeks advice from Cal. Get it? It’s a circle. Duh!
The story has its fair share of twists and turns. The best comes late, as it should. Sadly, the script and story are very uneven. Writer Dan Fogelman has written four animated movies and Fred Claus. This is his first “adult themed” movie, and his inexperience shows. There is a scene that takes place in Cal’s office. It is in the trailer. This scene serves no purpose. The characters in this scene never appear again. Why have this scene at all? The entire storyline dealing with Marisa Tomei could have and should have been dropped. Again, she doesn’t really add anything to the movie.
The directing duo of Ficarra and Requa, who worked together on their first movie I Love You, Phillip Morris, show their inexperience as well. They have a cast of great adult actors: Two Oscar nominees, one winner and Kevin Bacon. I don’t understand why this movie lacks emotion. Gosling and Stone are the only ones with real chemistry on the screen. Gosling really out shines his co-stars. His character’s “big move” might be the most brilliant writing so far this year. I am not going to give it away, but it was hilariously amazing.
Crazy, Stupid, Love thinks it is way more intelligent and prophetic than it really is. Most of the lines dealing with love seem more like drivel than words of wisdom. Trite doesn’t cut it. Groan-inducing is better.
The overall tone of the film has an identity crisis. Is it a comedy? Is it a drama? It does neither well. The good parts were good. The bad parts were bad. This makes the movie a solid, middle of the road film. Is it worth the time and money? If you have seen everything else, and have to go to the theater, then this would be okay. A rental would not be out of the question though. I just found the movie disappointing after the great trailer.
RATING: 5/10