One of the Better Romantic Comedies in Recent Years

Rating: Null/10 (24 August 2011)

"Crazy, Stupid, Love" is a romantic comedy that is less predictable than most romantic comedies of modern days. It doesn't have the old formula of boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl break up, boy and girl run into unexpected place and reconcile at end, which we have seen numerous times that it's like we already have seen the movie. Here, we are seeing a more mature comedy with some serious undertones and plenty of surprises. Too bad there aren't too many movies like this around.
Steve Carell is most restrained and controlled here in his role as Cal. He does not overact or try hard. He acts cool all along, and when he shows his emotions, he does them more internally than externally. He is in sudden shock when his longtime wife, Emily (Julianne Moore) asks for a divorce rather than dessert during dinner. Emily is bored and just had had an affair with her coworker, David (a sly but restrained Kevin Bacon). Cal moves out and heads into the singles scene. Ryan Gosling, a very serious and choosy actor in his generation where most men act like boys and he always acts like a man, is Jacob, a ladykiller who gets the girl every night, but has never kept one yet. At the bar, Jacob coaches Cal on how to get girls and tries to change his wardrobe in the process. Cal and Emily's children are deeply affected by the breakup of their parents, and each show their own emotions of it without resorting to overacting.
13-year-old Robbie (Jonah Bobo) is hit the hardest, and acts out more lustfully than his older sister, Hannah (the ubiquitous and reliable Emma Stone, a hot property of this generation and currently doing well this summer in "The Help" and other movies). Robbie has a secret crush on the alluring babysitter, Jessica, who takes a nude picture of herself and blackmails it to Cal. Hannah, an aspiring lawyer, already in love, has an affair with Jacob, who doesn't realize that she is Cal and Emily's daughter. Molly is underused, but like any other product of divorce, feels the pain of a broken family. Another surprise - Cal has a one-night-stand with Kate (Marisa Tomei, hilarious and heartbreaking, and shows her emotions the most externally), not realizing that she is Robbie's teacher, and gets angry when meeting with Cal and Emily, which adds fuel to the fire of the breakup.
All the secret affairs unfurl at the third act of the movie. All is restrained in comedy until the family reunion scene when everyone finds each other out. Naturally, happy endings occur. The only thing about this movie was the pacing was on the slow side at the beginning, but gets faster as the movie goes on until the third act. But thanks to a talented cast, Steve Carell, who some say is a "junk actor," doesn't get to overplay the comedy loudly. He is quieter, and he shows that side very well. If you are expecting his shtick from "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Get Smart," and "Dinner With Schmucks," you will be pleasantly surprised when you see his most mature performance yet. He is playing against type and real actors, not comic virtuosos like Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell. It's not crazy, it's certainly not stupid, and you will fall in love.