Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011) Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Analeigh Tipton, Jonah Bobo Movie Review

Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell in Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

Well the Stupid Part is Accurate

When Emily (Julianne Moore) announces that she wants a divorce it leaves her husband Cal (Steve Carell) not only shocked but after moving out he finds himself hanging out in a bar every day. It is in the bar that he meets the super confident Jacob (Ryan Gosling) who has the ability to say hello to pretty much any woman he likes and end up taking her home that night. Feeling pity for Cal, Jacob takes him under his wing and after giving him a makeover shows him the ropes of picking up women which he surprisingly masters. Meanwhile Cal's 13 year old son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) has a crush on Jessica (Analeigh Tipton) the babysitter who in turn has a crush on Cal.

For a while now I have kind of struggled with recent mainstream comedy and had come to the conclusion that what I found funny was no longer the same as what the current comedy writers were passing off as being funny. But whilst watching "Crazy, Stupid, Love." I realised there was something else about modern comedies which kind of gets under my skin and that is characters who are loud, force their laughs and talk at people. I mention this because that is exactly what you get in "Crazy, Stupid, Love." with Steve Carell often leading the way delivering the sort of character who for 99% of the movie seems to be doing his thing but not really interacting with the other characters in a believable and funny way.

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

But whilst that means that "Crazy, Stupid, Love." didn't tickle me like I know it has tickled others there is some thing about it which I still kind of enjoyed. Maybe it is the fact that by the end of the movie the writers have tried to find some depth and meaning to the craziness which had gone on before. Or maybe it is the way the characters in this movie and their own little stories end up crossing over in a ridiculous yet genuinely amusing way. It is genuinely a shame that most of the characters in "Crazy, Stupid, Love." come across as a little obnoxious for being too larger than life.

On the subject of the characters well you have Steve Carell, Emma Stone and Julianne Moore all delivering the sort of characters which you know you are going to get from them in comedies and whilst I did like this sort of loud thing once it isn't my thing anymore. But the most memorable performance in "Crazy, Stupid, Love." comes from Ryan Gosling because if being charming and confident around women wasn't a kick in the nuts but then he has to take off his top and show off the sort of physique which takes dedication to get. Thank you Mr. Gosling for making life unbearable for your average Joe.

What this all boils down to is that "Crazy, Stupid, Love." was just another typical modern comedy which is sort of dominated by the sort of characters who thinking acting loud is funny. In truth it is a shame because there are some nice ideas in "Crazy, Stupid, Love." but for me they are lost under what passes for humour these days.


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