CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE
Cast: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Analeigh Tipton, and Jonah Bobo
Directed by: John Requa and Glenn Ficarra
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for coarse humor, sexual content and language
Genre: Comedy, Drama and Romance
Running Time: 1hr 58 min
Opening Date: July 29th, 2011
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution
By John Delia
It’s crazy and yes it’s stupid and not much more than that. While I found myself wondering why Steve Carell would make a movie this mediocre, hackneyed and not a lot of fun to watch, I realized he just didn’t have his “Office†on for Crazy, Stupid, Love. A below average romancer, this flick is perfect for young couples who want to smooch in the back row of the theater and don’t have to pay attention to the dialogue.
The movie centers on Carl (Steve Carell) married to his wife Emily (Julianne Moore) for nearly 25 years. One evening while driving home from a parent’s night out Emily tells Carl that she wants a divorce. Carl’s stunned by the announcement and so are the children, especially their 13-year-old son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) who has reached puberty and lusts for the baby sitter Jessica (Analeigh Tipton) who lusts for Carl. After moving out of the house Carl frequents a local bar where he meets Jacob (Ryan Gosling) a local womanizer. Jacob takes Carl under his wing and gives him a new look setting off a chain of events that puts his family life in a tizzy.
The film falls flat after the first fifteen minutes and I found myself trying to figure out whether it’s nice to laugh at divorce and the circumstances surrounding the life choice. The plot has some funny stuff watching Carl being set free after a makeover to run with the bulls bedding every hot lady he can drop a line on, but haven’t wee seen that before in a film. Beyond that the writer thinks he needs to treat us to a somewhat awkward attempt by a 13-year-old (Carl’s son) to connect with his 17-year-old babysitter; and that babysitter’s cruel imagination of taking pictures of her body as bait to hook up with her boss (Carl).
Well you can see where I am going with this. Crazy, Stupid, Love just doesn’t work as a comedy or a romance and it may be due to the story written by Dan Fogelman (Cars, Bolt, Tangled and Fred Claus) who doesn’t seem to have made it to the PG-13 Romantic Comedy big league. There’s nothing in this film that’s realistic enough for teens or the pre-teens who will sneak in to see it.
Some of the problem could be attributed to the fact that Crazy, Stupid, Love had TWO directors, John Requa and Glenn Ficarra. The two also collaborated on I Love You Phillip Morris that was about romance of a completely different variety. That film took on a dark comedic theme, but the change over to a lighter theme here just doesn’t come off the screen in their Crazy, Stupid, Love.
The film is rated PG-13 for coarse humor, sexual content and language and contains some material that may be a bit over-the-top for immature teens.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Truly, Realistically, Fatally a flat romantic comedy. (D)
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