Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Plot synopsis:
Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) is a middle-aged man who learns that his wife Emily (Julianne Moore) has cheated on him with a co-worker, David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon), and that she wants a divorce. After moving into his own apartment, Cal goes to a bar night after night, talking loudly about his divorce, until he attracts the attention of a young man named Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling), a womanizer who beds women each night, although a young woman named Hannah (Emma Stone) recently had rejected his advances. Jacob takes pity on Cal, and offers to teach him how to pick up women. Using Jacob's teachings, Cal seduces Kate (Marisa Tomei) at the bar. After this encounter, Cal manages to successfully seduce other women in the bar. He sees Emily again at their son Robbie's (Jonah Bobo) parent-teacher conference. The interaction goes well until they discover that Robbie's teacher is Kate, who reveals to Emily that she and Cal have slept together. Cal then confesses to sleeping with nine women. Emily leaves in disgust and begins actively dating David. Meanwhile, Hannah, a recent law school graduate, is expecting her boyfriend, Richard (Josh Groban) to propose marriage while they celebrate her passing the bar exam, but he does not, instead, offering her a position at his law firm. Offended and hurt, Hannah returns to the bar where she originally rejected Jacob's advances and kisses Jacob passionately. The two return to Jacob's home to have sex, but end up talking to each other all night and making a connection. Jacob starts a relationship with Hannah, and he becomes distant from Cal.
At the same time, Robbie makes numerous grand gestures to try to win the heart of his 17-year-old babysitter, Jessica Riley (Analeigh Tipton), who actually has a crush on Cal. On the advice of her classmate Madison (Julianna Guill), she takes naked photos of herself to send to Cal and tucks them away in an envelope inside her dresser drawer. Later, when Emily calls Cal under the guise of needing help with the house's pilot light, Cal decides to try and win her back. Meanwhile, Jacob returns Cal's calls and asks for advice about starting a real relationship and meeting his girlfriend's parents. Jessica's mother, Claire (Beth Littleford), who dislikes Cal, discovers Jessica's naked photos in the dresser drawer and shows them to Jessica's father, Bernie (John Carroll Lynch). Bernie was Cal's best friend before Claire made him end their friendship in the aftermath of the breakup. Bernie rushes to the Weaver residence to confront him about the photos, with Jessica in pursuit. Cal and his kids create a makeshift mini golf set in their backyard to remind Emily of their first date. During the gathering, Jacob and Hannah show up at the house, and Hannah is revealed to be Cal and Emily's first daughter. Cal is appalled that Jacob is dating his daughter, and forbids her to see him. At that moment, Bernie shows up and attacks Cal. Jessica arrives and tells her father that Cal knew nothing of the pictures. Then David arrives on the scene to return Emily's sweater from a previous date. Jacob asks David if his name is Lindhagen and when David replies "yes," Jacob punches him in the face for the pain he caused Cal. Cal, Jacob, David, and Bernie then get into a scuffle which is soon broken up by the police. Cal starts spending time at the bar again and receives a visit from Jacob, who confesses that he is in love with Hannah. Cal replies that he is happy that Jacob is a changed man but does not approve of Jacob and Hannah's relationship, having seen Jacob's former lifestyle. Jacob does not harbor any ill feelings; rather, he respects Cal and praises him for being a great father.
At Robbie's eighth grade graduation, Robbie is the salutatorian and gives a pessimistic speech about how he no longer believes in true love and soul-mates. Cal stops him and instead begins to recount his courtship with Emily to the audience, saying that, while he does not know if things will work out, he will never give up on Emily. With renewed faith, Robbie reaffirms his love for Jessica, to the audience's applause. After the ceremony, Cal gives Jacob and Hannah his blessing. Jessica gives Robbie an envelope containing the nude photos of herself that were originally intended for Cal to "get him through high school." Cal and Emily have a laugh talking about the events that have transpired the past year, hinting that they might get back together.

Tags: comedy, boring, realism, dramatic, cute, plot twist, romantic, entertaining, sentimental

Review:
But instead of tripe, I got one of the most unexpected surprises I have seen all year.Cal (Steve Carell) and Emily (Julianne Moore) have hit a rough patch in their long-time marriage, and Emily inadvertently announces to an entire restaurant that she wants a divorce.
Jacob (Ryan Gosling), a professional bachelor, takes notice and makes it his personal mission to help Cal get over his wife, and become a new man in the process.But this is just the main plot thread of the movie.
It also follows Jacob's relationship with the absolutely stunning Hannah (Emma Stone), throws in a bit of curveball with Emily being romanced by David (Kevin Bacon), and even has a bit of a focus on Cal's son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) pining over his older babysitter Jessica (Analeigh Tipton).
What's more, it achieves the remarkable and all-too-rare feat of actually moving the audience to care about the central characters, to cheer when they come out on top and sympathize when they don't.Using a witty, compassionate and ever-so-slightly subversive script from Dan Fogelman, directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who are best known for writing the pitch-black comedy/satire Bad Santa and only have one other directorial effort under their belts (last year's I Love You, Philip Morris), guide the production along with subtle ease.
As the unquestionable lead of the film, Steve Carell displays a tenderness and dramatic depth he'd only hinted at in previous works like the unexpectedly moving The 40-Year-Old Virgin and occasional episodes of The Office, while Ryan Gosling, all immaculate grooming, sly grins and twinkling eyes, is perfectly cast as his foil, Jacob, a suave ladies' man who's really using all that money and swagger to disguise the emptiness he feels inside.
It celebrates movies like Say Anything or Jerry Maguire where sentimental wasn't a bad word and love meant more than sex, diamond earrings and expensive, candlelit dinners, where those small, precious moments of quiet intimacy – a shared look, a simple but honest conversation, a laugh, a smile, buying a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone, a spontaneous phone call – speak as loudly as the grandest, most dramatic, craziest gestures.In short, Crazy, Stupid, Love does what the best romantic comedies do: it gives us a glimpse into the raw, human moments that collectively build to bring two people together – or, at times, tear them apart; we fall in love with them just as they fall in – or, out of – love with each other.
Surprisingly the film was written by Dan Fogelman, who is known for his script writing on the animated Cars movies.No question women will enjoy the film, but the surprise is, many men will relate to what's going on with the Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling characters.
While he has occasionally been a decent funnyman, I hadn't seen him in a role where he was remotely interesting and believable.Yesterday, I was at the movies, pretty much the whole day, and decided to check out "Crazy Stupid Love", because it had decent critical and audience reactions, better than I expected for a romantic comedy, and it had some of my favorite people in it, including Julianne Moore, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.
He seems to be the superficial funnyman at first, and, like the rest of the cast in this terrific film, opens up, and surprises the audience.While Julianne Moore is always great, her character and Carrell's character mesh in a way that makes you believe that their marriage lasted 20+ years.
It looked to me like a smart romantic comedy for adults with a bit of an edge, which is exactly what it is, the story is fresh and appeals to a broad age range, the Steve Carrell/Julianne Moore storyline appeals to the older married demographic and the Ryan Gosling/ Emma Stone storyline appeals to the younger hipper generation.Steve Carrell gives a terrific performance as the poor guy whose life just seems to go from bad to worse, I think he will be nominated for a golden globe or something like that, he is a very funny guy to watch no matter what role he is in, the rest of the cast is fine also, Miss Moore once again proves she us an actress with a spectacular, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone have excellent chemistry together which makes them entirely believable as lovers, however one person steals the show and that is Marisa Tomei in all her nutty glory, her scenes are exceptionally funny but they are too few and far between.This movie does have it's flaws, the end twist is too far fetched and unbelievable, I think it would have been better if they gave you some clues as to how the story all comes together in the end, the Gosling/Stone relationship isn't given enough time to make you really care, and also it's a tad too long.
The women basically play straight men to the male characters, with Marisa Tomei shining in the laughs department despite her short role.While I liked the surprises in the climax and the touching scene at Robbie's graduation, the rest of the film did not really appeal to me too much.
All these threads eventually tie together in what (at times) appears like a French farce, but which does ultimately have a very valid point.All the performances were very good with Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Julianne Moore taking centre stage.
the positives are the way they have treated this story line, the cast, their acting -steve carell keep this movie going and Ryan gosling looks really stunning with his perfect abs..but the screenplay cud have been bit better..most of the scenes takes place in the bar..those thing make the movie go slower..and also the same old clichés like mom cheating over dad, and dad getting back to the family in a thought provoking, eye opening speech in the end are bit dramatic...but whatever said, if only the pace of the movie was good then this movie could have become one of the best movies in this genre.
About 3/4 of the way through there's a scene which lasts about 2 minutes that's actually funny and I think the audience laughed for the first time.The film up to that point plods it's way here, with a creepy sad plot and long, long silences to make this moment.The last 1/4 of the film is totally and utterly pointless and simply attempts to resolve the story in a totally embarrassing and non-humorous way.Honestly the people who wrote this film have no clue about what love is - it certainly isn't endlessly pursuing and stalking someone who says no repeatedly..
I don't think it was supposed to be that way, based on other people's reviews, but that's how it hit me.I guess Carell fans love anything he does; gasp with amazement any time he manages to cry or to read a line without making a funny face or a funny noise, and tell themselves what a great dramatic actor he is in addition to being the funniest man in the world; and they probably don't care or even notice how anybody else comes across.
Crazy, Stupid, Love fortunately breaks that model and is actually funny, as well as dramatic.Cal and Emily Weaver (Steve Carell and Julianne Moore) are a married couple who have two young children and Emily ask Cal for a divorce after she admits she had slept with co-worker.
Crazy, Stupid, Love has sometimes been classified as a romantic-comedy, if that is the case it is a great example of a film that avoids clichés and is a film that people who do not like the genre can enjoy.
Writer Dan Fogelman (Cars, Cars 2, Tangled, Bolt, Fred Claus, etc) may be taking a step up form his previous work and that is a good sign, but when directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa have shown their sensitivity in the much maligned if not sadly ignored treasure 'I Love You, Philip Morris' it feels odd they should go for this script.Difficult to classify as a Romance or Comedy or Drama the film falls into the familiar category of a RomCom. Opening a film with an embarrassingly public announcement of a marriage dissolution over a wife's infidelity and dissatisfaction with her nerdy but good father/provider husband this story embraces about every situation about falling in and out of 'love' imaginable.
The stories surround us in everyday life: the film merely magnifies them.It is always amazing when the marquee boasts the names of some of our more interesting actors as being involved: Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon, et al deliver what they can.
Being released two years apart, their movie direction definitely improved.On to the movie review itself.Crazy, Stupid, Love begins with the divorce dinner of two of the main characters, Steve Carell's Cal and Julianne Moore's Emily.
I was pleasantly surprised, and really enjoyed seeing this movie at a premiere this week.I wasn't sure what to expect, so it took me a bit by surprise that it was so funny and touching in a lot of ways.It seemed to try to demonstrate that every person in this world has unique, loving, characteristics and that they might not be readily apparent on the surface.It reminded me a lot of "Playing by Heart", and in some ways the less enjoyable "Love, Actually".Those two movies had similar characteristics but weren't as funny as Crazy, Stupid, Love.The comedic aspects of this movie will appeal to the guys in the audience that don't normally like sappy love stories, so overall this is a movie that has something for everyone.Highly recommended, and I give it a 10/10 even though its not perfect (but what movie is?)..
-Zero-to-pick-up-artist romantic lead (40 Year Old Virgin - same actor and everything!) Rich-but-doesn't-work-super-sexy-womaniser (think Barney Stinson without a shade of originality by the filmmakers) Reformed playaa (Wedding Crashers) Super attractive female lead who we know won't end up with current boyfriend because he's played by a no-name actor and the male lead has already appeared in the same scene as her (there's too many to list, but lets just use Spider-Man) Crazy one-night stand personality and the awkwardness that ensues (Wedding Crashers) Boorish and cringeworthy kid love story (ripped straight out of Love Actually, but a lot less cute) Teenage girl obsessed with older man (think American Beauty) Everyone gets closure and lives happily ever after (Love Actually)OK maybe my list of examples is limited, but I'm sure once you've seen one you've seen them all (certainly true of McConaughey and I'm starting to suspect of Gosling too) By the end I was wincing in pain.
In a world where Hollywood repeatedly churns out 'comedies' which are about as amusing as bowel cancer, it does seem that Steve Carell is actually becoming as sure fire bet as you can get in the movie industry to be actually funny every time.Okay, so Crazy, Stupid, Love is not a laugh-a-minute fest, but, right from the start, it raises a fair few chuckles.
His son Robbie (13) is infatuated by his babysitter Jessica (17) who in-turn has feelings for Cal. Emily is reluctantly seeing her colleague David (Kevin Bacon) while Cal meets a mysterious young womanizer in a bar Jacob (Ryan Gosling) who teaches him how to loosen up and get score girls, Cal makes decent use of it.
Crazy, Stupid, Love is a rom-com that gathers all the codes, clichés and stereotypes of the genre.Yet, the acting is perfect, there is a good chemistry between Gosling and Carell, and one can easily empathize or sympathize with one of the characters.
Crazy,Stupid,Love is an excellent,hilarious,underrated Romantic Comedy-Drama that combines solid direction,a wonderful cast,terrific laughs,a great script and a memorable score.
All of those elements make Crazy,Stupid,Love a fantastic and entertaining Comedy-Drama that is worth the time.Set in Los Angeles,California,Crazy,Stupid,Love tells the story of Cal(Steve Carell),a man who's wife and High School sweetheart Emily(Julianne Moore)wants a divorce.
Heartbroken and emotionally scarred,Cal receives advice from Jacob(Ryan Gosling),a smooth talking ladies man who that not only becomes Cal's friend but also teaches Cal to and to pick up woman at the clubs and bars and become a new Cal that is more confident and self-assured.Most would agree that Romantic Comedies,while successful at the Box Office are predictable,sentimental and sappy but every once in a while there is a gem or a diamond in the rough to be found in the Romantic Comedy genre that stands out from the crowd and gives viewers a fresh take on the genre and one of those gems and diamonds in the rough is Crazy,Stupid,Love,a wonderful,hilarious and truly bittersweet Romantic Comedy-Drama that was a Box Office success but was overlooked because most people thought is was going to be another Romantic Comedy but the film is very underrated and is one of the best and better films of the Romantic Comedy genre.
The movie not only gives viewers the main plot involving Cal and Jacob but subplots involving other characters a subplot involving Jacob falling for working girl Hanna(Emma Stone)and another subplot about Cal's young son Robbie(Jonah Bobo)who's in love with his babysitter Jessica(Analeigh Tipton)who in turn has a crush on Cal. The many story lines and plots all mesh together well in CSL and there is not a wasted scene in the entire film.
For reasons unknown to anyone but the scriptwriter Jacob pities the older lion and he promises to 'reawaken the man in you', cue the lengthy montage where he does just that, and Cal is systematically reinvented from the New Balance sneakers on up.Now normally that would set the scene in a typical rom-com, with the ingredients in the bowl it would simply be a case of playing out time in the unnecessarily complicated dance of inevitability, with whichever couple is deemed worthy of enjoying the purest form of bliss smoocherooing for the final few seconds before the credits roll.But Crazy, Stupid Love is a deal more complicated than even that.
But this film calls for far more than mere coincidence, the karma forces at play here are so very strong that I would suggest the chances of actual occurrence would be the equivalent of winning the national lottery three weeks in a row.But ultimately this is neither rom nor com, Crazy, Stupid Love has its share of romance (I guess) and is generally amusing without moving too far into either twee or gross-out territory – a line that seems to be getting harder to navigate – and although there are precious few laugh out loud moments on the plus side I never hated myself for sitting there, predominantly due to the strength of the leads, Steve Carrell and Julianne Moore are so likable that it seems a shame that their fake movie marriage ended, Emma Stone is rapidly making her name as the down to earth chick that threatens neither male nor female and it would be hard to resent Kevin Bacon even if it was your wife he was hunting.Which brings me to Ryan Gosling, the current dreamboat for thirty-some women everywhere, nice and non-threatening enough to introduce him to the folks yet ripped enough to leave them weak at the knees.I actually like the guy, but I don't really understand the allure of a softly spoken man who constantly slurs his speech like Gosling does, regardless of how hot the boy is.
Well, you get the idea: this film sweetly shows the fortitude needed to play the game, right to the end.Cal (Steve Carell) is being divorced by Emily (Julianne Moore) after 25 years of soul mating.
The ensemble cast makes it a bonus to sit through with its star power on display, with a good mix of veterans and the Hollywood youths stamping their mark to make this a lot more memorable than your typical, formulaic romance.With multiple threads running, we have Steve Carell and Julianne Moore as husband and wife Cal and Emily, who begin the film with an announcement that their marriage is doomed, setting off a catalyst of events and series of stories involving their son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) being infatuated with the family babysitter Jessica (Analeigh Tipton), the latter's own infatuation for Cal, Emily and her romantic dalliance with office colleague David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon) being the root cause, and Cal being helped by the suave womanizing player Jacob (Ryan Gosling) who falls hard for Hannah (Emma Stone) a lawyer who had spurned his advances, which has so far snagged him all his targets, and is now imparting his technique and knowledge to Cal to help him move on.
Marisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon add wonderful supporting screen time and star-studdedness to the ensemble.With some incredibly witty lines that do make you want to sit up and note that real people rarely talk like they do, scripted in a certain way and delivered with impeccable, deliberate timing, Crazy, Stupid, Love.
He's not the only reason to see the film though, like those earlier noted films, this is an ensemble piece made up of a lot of great talented actors such as Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone and Marisa Tomei.
The two bond during their experiment but things become complicated when Emily begins to show feelings for Cal again and Jacob falls for a young lovely woman (Stone).The film is grade A material and production values all around; the cast is outstanding (especially Carell and Gosling, two of my favorite actors), the directing is decent, the film looks great and the script is smart and fun.
Cal (Steve Carell) gets very upset because his wife Emily (Julianne Moore) asks for the divorce and he is later helped by Jacob (Ryan Gosling) to rediscover his manhood so he can feel well again.
The film features an ensemble cast comprising of immensely talented actors like Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling and a few others.