Review

Review Date: 31-July-11
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

In I Love You Phillip Morris, directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa told a love story that clashed with the protagonist's mental illness, and the result was unsatisfying. In their follow-up, Crazy, Stupid, Love, they tell several love stories where the craziness represents the funny, sweet, universal reaction to a life-defining emotion, and the result is highly satisfying. (We'll overlook the fact that the second comma in the title is stupid.) With more layers and honest heartache than a romantic comedy, Crazy, Stupid, Love can easily make you go gaga.

In a role tailor-made for him, Steve Carell stars as Cal Weaver, a solid family man whose wife Emily (Julianne Moore) shocks him by admitting to infidelity and asking for a divorce. Cal and Emily have been together since high school, and the years since then and middle age have dulled their "soulmate" connection with boredom and complacency. In suits tailor-made for him, Ryan Gosling co-stars as Jacob Palmer, a ladies' man who notices Cal moping in a bar and offers to teach him the ways of female conquest out of pity and disgusted fascination. During their unlikely buddy scenes the pupil emerges as a nattily dressed player while Gosling, an actor known for intense dramatic work, emerges as a subtle comedian (and out-and-out sex symbol).

Although successful, Cal doesn't enjoy his wolf status because he's still attached to his wife. His devotion is reflected in his 13-year-old son (Jonah Bobo), who believes he was born to be with his 17-year-old babysitter (Analeigh Tipton) even though she has an equally embarrassing crush in another direction. In time playboy Jacob gets hit by the love bug after spending the night with a fledgling lawyer (Emma Stone) who's unsure what she wants in a man. The directors adroitly juggle these and other secondary characters, all of whose interactions sparkle with warmth and humor. I particularly enjoyed the scenes where Cal and Emily take tentative steps towards reconciliation. It's nice to see a film focused on both a married couple who has long been in love and a younger couple newly in love, illustrating their common struggles with feeling worthy and forging a shared life. The various romances — budding, fading, or merely fantasized — come to a head in a hilarious moment of confluence that requires intervention from the police. Brawling is just one of the expressions of affection that propel the characters towards their happy endings, which are as gratifying to the audience as they are to the lovers themselves.

Copyright © 2011 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.