Crazy and stupid but I still love you

Rating: 9/10 (30 May 2012)

It is so good that I watched it twice in one day. I watched it the first time and really enjoyed it as I was pleasantly surprised. It is like a suspense story with a happy tone. So in a few hours I watched it for the second time and traced the threads and appreciated it more.
It is probably the best romantic comedy I have not seen for a long time: it made me cry. It made me laugh (before my tears were dry). Then there were some uplifting and heartwarming messages. The whole cast is just excellent. We need more films like this.
Really love this movie. There are three love stories – parent, older kid and younger kid. So the movie will appeal to a wide spectrum of audience. Naturally it addresses three types of love: marriage and fading love interspersed with midlife crisis and adultery, promiscuous and materialistic vs. spiritual and physical love with communication, and youngsters' infatuation (Robby to Jessica and Jessica to Cal).
The plot itself is cleverly crafted and twisted yet flows very naturally. The cast were excellent. Everyone is likable even though they might be stupid and crazy. Julianne Moore is good as always but what shines in this movie is Steve Carell who proved that he can really act. I enjoyed the scene when Emily (Julianne Moore) called her ex-husband Cal (Steve Carell) to ask him how to turn on the boiler in the basement when actually she just missed him too much and was using it as an excuse to hear his voice. Cal was just outside the yard secretly helping and was aware of everything but he gladly and touchingly played along. That was so sweet.
Another moving scene is when they talked outside their son's classroom about their children and they had tears in their eyes. It makes you wonder maybe they should not have separated in the first place. They should explore what challenges they are facing and try to solve it altogether. Instead Cal did not deal with it very well. But it is so human - men usually do not know how to deal with these emotional things.
Jacob (Ryan Gosling) is another character so real in life – materialistic as he was, he was not happy because he had not found true love. He did all the things people did and thought love will come but it did not, until Nana (Emma Stone) entered. Nana was so different from other women - she kept bugging him to know more about him and he finally opened up.
What is love anyway? My only complaint about the movie is it did not touch enough on what love is except it never quit. It is not just sex. It is not crush. Maybe it is caring, missing and thinking about each other (Cal and Emily). Or be yourself and not judgmental of others (Hannah and Jacob).
I wish we had more comedies like this.