Crazy, Stupid, Love. - (July 29th, 2011): PG-13
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Opening Weekend Box-Office: #5 with $19,104,303
Domestic Box-Office Gross to-date: $33,810,000
Gross Revenue: $33,810,000
Production Budget: $50 million
Director(s): Glenn Ficarra and John Requa
As any marketing analyst would undoubtedly tell you, the simplistic promotion surrounding Crazy, Stupid, Love. made it clear that this romantic comedy wasn’t going to be generating the buzz of a traditional action-packed blockbuster or franchise tent-pole. Clearly, audiences would have to be drawn by the stellar cast, whether that included the Hollywood mainstays (Julianne Moore, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon, and Steve Carell), or the rising stars (Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone). Between the Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations shared by the cast and the devoted fan-followings of the younger stars, Warner Bros. had undoubted faith that the cast would be able to fill theaters. At the very least, Ryan Gosling has troves of female fans from his heart-throb performance in 2004’s The Notebook, and Emma Stone has repeatedly charmed audiences across a number of different genres…Superbad, Zombieland, and Easy A may be hard to categorize in a simple way, but the distinct fan-base of each virtually guarantees a diverse audience each time this sassy starlet hits the screen. With the Summer Movie Season beginning to wind down, a simple and non-recycled romantic story (are you listening, Friends with Benefits?) would be a welcome change at the theater after so many special effects-laced franchises and raunchy comedies.
Crazy, Stupid, Love. tells three distinct stories that illustrate the roller-coaster that often characterizes love and romance in the different stages of life. The notion of first love is represented by 13-year-old Robbie (Jonah Bobo), who is obsessively in love with his 17-year-old babysitter, Jessica (Analeigh Tipton). New love is shown by recently-graduated law student Hannah (Emma Stone), who, while unsure of her status with her current boyfriend, still resists the advances of notorious ladies man, Jacob (Ryan Gosling). Mature love is left a little shaky when family man Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) discovers that his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore), has cheated on him with a co-worker, David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon). The stories converge in a number of different ways: Robbie happens to be Cal and Emily’s son, it is revealed that Jessica harbors a crush for Cal, and Jacob takes pity on the depressed Cal and decides to coach him in the art of seduction, which is wildly unsuccessful until the divorcee meets a kind-hearted teacher, Kate (Marisa Tomei). Taking an earnest and through-provoking look at relationships with considerable humor and a clever zaniness, Crazy, Stupid, Love. has something that a surprisingly broad audience will be able to relate to in some way.
Now, audiences may not have first-hand experience concerning the exact storylines present in Crazy, Stupid, Love., but the characters and scenarios echo reality so strongly that this romantic comedy is completely validated. We all know the guy with the ability to pick up any woman at a bar, or have come across a recently divorced couple…hell, I can completely relate to the heartache of falling in love with the older babysitter, and that resonance is what makes the film so completely engrossing. Each of the actors completely embraces and shines as their respective distinct characters, the easy standout being Ryan Gosling as the lothario who berates and coaches Steve Carell’s heartbroken homemaker…the interaction between the two is comedic gold, but I would be remiss if I didn’t identify Analeigh Tipton as a rising star that Hollywood casting directors should definitely keep their eyes on. The story weaves the characters together seamlessly and showcases the love and heartbreak they each share with a surprising mix of pathos and humor. I also have to give credit to the screenwriters, because they sneak in a twist in the story that I didn’t see coming at all; thankfully, instead of stopping the momentum dead like countless other films (Hancock), the big reveal only adds to the zaniness and sends the film into overdrive by setting the stage for a heartwarming ending. Though near-perfect, there are a few elements that the film could have been improved upon, but even then, audiences will be so charmed that I doubt they will be compelled to criticize.
Unfortunately, with such a loaded cast, there was the risk that some well-known names wouldn’t receive enough screen time, and in this romantic comedy, Marisa Tomei was the clear victim. Playing the first woman that Cal successfully seduces, Marisa Tomei was only on screen a disappointingly short amount of time for someone of her acting ability, but thankfully, she makes the most of every second. Even Emma Stone is absent for a noticeably long portion of time after her introduction, but once she finally does reappear, the screenwriters wisely made sure that she stuck around. And, for as enjoyable as the film was in its entirety, there are some elements of Crazy, Stupid, Love. that are a little too over-the-top; Robbie’s declarations of love to his babysitter and Cal’s sappy pleas to reconcile with Emily get old rather quickly. These shortcomings do drag the film’s pacing after a while, but as I mentioned before, the clever twist breathes new life into the romantic comedy and makes it so that these trivial shortcomings are easily forgiven and forgotten.
Now, I said earlier that Warner Bros. was counting on star-power to fill theaters, but tragically, that gamble did just not work, as Crazy, Stupid, Love. opened in fifth its opening weekend. Granted, $19 million would normally reward a film with a much higher ranking at the box office, but in this Summer Movie Season, the substantial competition provided by fellow new-releases The Smurfs and Cowboys & Aliens proved too much. With no overseas presence, it is tragic to think that a movie this strong might actually end up losing money against its $50 million production budget. I can only hope that word-of-mouth adds to the positive buzz already surrounding Crazy, Stupid, Love. and compels audiences (even those adamantly against romantic comedies) to jump to the theater. An easy front-runner for Best Film of the Year with a stellar cast, I guarantee that you will love Crazy, Stupid, Love. and be talking about it for months.
Overall Recommendation: Very High
