Crazy, Stupid, Love has a lot going for it, despite a few flaws that kept it from being a truly excellent and wonderful movie. It boasts a strong and funny cast: Steve Carell as Cal Weaver, doing his sad-sack schtick that never seems to get old; Julianne Moore, as Cal's wife, Emily, who unexpectedly asks for a divorce; Ryan Gosling as Jacob, a slick ladies' man who looks at pathetic Cal as a makeover project; Emma Stone as Hannah, who is onto Jacob's game, yet also falls for it.
These four characters own Crazy, Stupid, Love and I wish the movie had been entirely focused on their stories. Unfortunately, there are a couple subplots in the movie that are just, well, crazy and stupid. Cal and Emily's son, Robbie, has an inappropriate crush on their babysitter, Jessica, even though Robbie is 13 and Jessica is 17. This crush is not something Robbie keeps to himself. He tells Jessica repeatedly that he loves her, even after she tells him to bug off. Robbie even visits her high school and makes a dramatic and grand gesture of love, insisting that she's his soulmate and that she'll "learn to love" him. Sheesh, even though the kid is 13 and harmless enough, his obsession with her is genuinely creepy. And--semi spoiler here--Jessica gives Robbie a memento at the end of the film that is incredibly creepy and gross.Meanwhile, Jessica nurtures an inappropriate crush on Cal that also appears out of place and bizarre in an otherwise sweet film. To me, Crazy, Stupid, Love is about four adults dealing with the ups and downs and complications of relationships--not about kids and their unrequited crushes. I don't have a problem with kids and unrequited crushes--I've had my fair share, after all--but the directors took these subplots in icky directions that distracted from the characters I was actually interested in.
Speaking of childish sensibilities, Crazy, Stupid, Love pushes the belief that there is one person out there for everyone, and when you meet them "you'll just know" and you'll "never stop fighting for them". In a flimsy romantic comedy, I would expect characters to swallow the idea of soulmates hook, line, and sinker. But I felt like Crazy, Stupid, Love was too good, too honest, too mature for this nonsense. There's a line where Cal wants to purchase jeans at the Gap and the fashionable Jacob tells him "Be better than the Gap". I wanted to tell Crazy, Stupid, Love to "be better than soulmates". Soulmates is the easy way out. Think about it: if you're watching a movie (a mainstream one, at least) and the two romantic leads have an argument or some kind of obstacle, but one of them says "you're my soulmate", or "you're the One", or even simply, "I love you"--it shuts down all other arguments and discussion. Movies that pull the soulmate move take romantic love for granted. They think that, in the end, romantic love will solve all problems and wash away all inequities. In reality, we know that love doesn't work that way. Yes, love can be transformative, and in some cases even more powerful than life itself. But the idea of "true love" presented in fluffy rom-coms is too much of a Deus ex machina to be believed: it immediately solves all problems. That's fine for a lot of movies, but Crazy, Stupid, Love *appears* to want to soar above all that, yet never quite does.
Inside Crazy, Stupid, Love is a better movie waiting to be born. There are moments of such honesty and longing (for example, a scene where Jacob tries to explain to Cal his surprise--and fear--at discovering his own ability to fall in love) that make you feel as if you are spying on real people and not just watching actors say lines. Crazy, Stupid, Love is very slick (the characters are wealthy and educated, and spend their time in suburban malls and upscale bars), yet never phony. Still, the fact that the film rests a little too comfortably in the security that True Love will win out in the end--without truly addressing the dark side of relationships (stalking, obsession, promiscuity, loss of desire for one's spouse...the list goes on) that it hints at--brings an otherwise transcendent film down a notch.
Oh, and FWIW, Crazy, Stupid, Love has an awesome soundtrack.
3.75 out of 5 stars
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