A cut above the rest

Rating: 7/10 (1 October 2011)

Over the past few decades, comedy has become a devilishly treacherous genre, accumulating numerous convolutions for both the audience and filmmakers ever since the word "comedy" semantically shifted from "lightweight drama with a happy ending" to "a nonstop rollercaster ride of laughs at the cinema".
Story, characters, and even technical cinematic merit are usually pushed aside, either by demand of the audience or the laziness of the filmmakers, to make way for a riotous barrage of unevenly handled gags. In the event of a misfire – which, due to the unpredictable subjectivity of humour, could happen at any time – the humorous smokescreen is suddenly lifted from the eyes of any sophisticated cinema connoisseurs and the sight of the big, fat, filthy, empty void of a film that has been placed in front of them immediately disengages them. On the other hand, the more laidback moveigoers sitting around them will most likely still be recovering from the excitement of the previous bout of witticism and content to stare at the sexually-charged scenery whilst waiting for the next funny moment. However, if there is a long-term humour drought – such as one that last throughout the entire movie – then both parties will completely lose interest, with the former referring to the film as "pedestrian" and the latter calling it "gay".
Fortunately for all, Crazy, Stupid, Love. does not even take the gamble in the first place. It delivers multiple multi-faceted and secretly interlocking stories and many genuinely interesting and entertaining characters for it to fall back on, and which provide the film with real substance and a reason for the gags to be there. Without such things, comedy movies are simply stand-up routines and movie musicals and merely concert films – not that any members of the general public really care about this, but a film that goes down this lazy alleyway will almost always become bait for pompous critics and hypocritical everyday cynics. These movies are all forgettable, momentary phenomenons and huge and financial successes, but they also became subject to decades of relentless slandering after the fuss has died down, whereas films like Crazy, Stupid, Love. continue to have accolades and retain their popularity long after their release because they are uninhibited by a safe use-by date.
Popular comedic actor Steve Carell is at the centre of the piece playing Cal Weaver, one those familiar down-on-his-luck middle-aged recently divorced men, but Carell and the adept screenplay writer Dan Fogelman, against expectations, manage to render Cal in a way that feels fresh. In one of the most quick-witted and instantly engrossing openings since last year's The Social Network we see him dining awkwardly in a restaurant with his wife, Emily, and are as shocked as he is when she unceremoniously tells him that she wants a divorce. Yet, once again, a character that could easily have been a clichéd romantic comedy staple is imbued with a satisfying complexity. Played by the very graceful and prolific Julianne Moore, she adores her husband and the cute chemistry between them remains very much alive, however much it falters, for the entire duration of the movie, but after twenty-five years of marriage, beyond the point of the sugar-coated uplifting declaration of young love that concludes most romantic comedies, she is beginning to find that chemistry insufficient.
The devastation reduces him to a sad, sorry, pathetic little drunk spending hours moaning about in a bar, a loser that quirky and charismatic womaniser Jacob Palmer (a sensational Ryan Gosling) takes pity on and decides to take under his wing. Under Jacob's guidance, Cal successfully woos and enjoys steamy one-night stands with nine pretty women, no small feet considering he had previously only slept with one woman. Among these seductions is a hilarious double-encounter with spirited tigress Kate (Marisa Tormei having an absolute ball). After a while, Jacob starts to let his talented pupil play freely as he makes some big scores himself, most notably the lovely Hannah (Emma Stone) who has him particularly excited.
Meanwhile, Emily is toying gawkily with the wispy upshots of her adulterated love affair with her oft-mentioned arrogant work colleague David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon), a fling which Cal and Emily's incredibly precocious and uncannily perceptive son Robbie (talented Zathura alumni Jonah Bobo) can see put in the spanner in the works of the marriage, and always gives the evil to. He too is getting in on the romantic action, having developed an irrepressible infatuation with his 17-year-old babysitter Jessica (Analeigh Tipton) and, despite her obvious resistance, pursues her with astonishing. Despite the ridiculousness of this 13-year-old's actions, he is just as aware of how it all seems on the outside as the jeering adults are, and one cannot help but empathise and identify with a character so reminiscent and truthful to the frustratedly never taken seriously child that we all once were.
These interconnected scenarios are developed naturally and quietly, yet entertainingly, in the end producing a hugely satisfying, electrically comical and genuinely surprising culmination at a point which would ideally be the film's explosive finale, but as always precedes a less high-spirited and gloomier last few concluding scenes that are usually a maddeningly tedious and painfully predictable failed attempt at creating pathos where it is neither wanted nor possible. However, in this case it is perfectly possible and not entirely unwelcome, but it does still leave one feeling that the film was overly long.
Nevertheless, this is brilliant work and makes for a highly enjoyable trip to the cinema.