Visitors Review

Glock_Boy (2012-05-26 01:18)

I loved it ... but the wife hated it.

I rented this movie thinking I would score big points in selecting afunny, romantic movie on the night of my wife's 43rd birthday.She ended up not liking it, but I, on the other hand, thought it was ahoot. So, guys, don't be surprised if you end of sleeping on the couchafter renting this one for your date or significant other.This film represents the romantic changes and challenges we face as wemature.Seen from all perspectives (15-year old boy, 18 year old girl,20-something bachelor, 40-something parents), you come away bewilderedat the complexities of love, marriage and relationships in general.How do we marry and keep it fresh after so many years? How does acareer bachelor finally find true love? How does a boy express feelingsabout his babysitter? How do we know we are with the right companion? Iliked this film because it touched a nerve with me, and spoke certaintruths that I hadn't considered before.My wife, on the other hand, couldn't get past the multiple triangles ofrelationship building (especially amongst the younger characters), andI think checked out mentally before she should have.This is a quality piece of work with some solid acting, characterdevelopment and a few surprises at the end. Oh yeah, it's pretty darnfunny too.

DICK STEEL (2012-05-25 13:19)

A Nutshell Review: Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Crazy, Stupid, Love. is this season's equivalent of He's Just Not ThatInto You, Valentine's Day and other recent romantic dramas and comediesthat sprawl in their dealing with that titular emotion that can driveyou wild when things are going your way, or mad when things aren't, andespecially the latter which is what this film had its multiplenarratives dwelling on. The ensemble cast makes it a bonus to sitthrough with its star power on display, with a good mix of veterans andthe Hollywood youths stamping their mark to make this a lot morememorable than your typical, formulaic romance.With multiple threads running, we have Steve Carell and Julianne Mooreas husband and wife Cal and Emily, who begin the film with anannouncement that their marriage is doomed, setting off a catalyst ofevents 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 dalliancewith office colleague David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon) being the rootcause, and Cal being helped by the suave womanizing player Jacob (RyanGosling) who falls hard for Hannah (Emma Stone) a lawyer who hadspurned his advances, which has so far snagged him all his targets, andis now imparting his technique and knowledge to Cal to help him moveon. Think of it as Hitch who doesn't provide a bill, but there tooverhaul wardrobe and attitude.Crazy, Stupid. Love. just about covers an entire spectrum both good andbad, well, mostly the challenging aspects about being in love withsomeone, from the feelings of being unrequited, that of what would be astable relationship drifting apart, of loving someone much older,office affairs, bar pickups and one night stands, playing the field andbeing played, and the list goes on. Writer Dan Fogelman packs so muchinto the narrative though its near two hour runtime doesn't get feltthanks to the superb pacing in giving each aspect, and narrativethread, plenty of room to develop and breathe, not leaving you feelingthat they are being rammed down your throat.Some may balk at how convenient the story lines all play out, andfrankly the way how the convergence was done was something thatBollywood comedies do on a consistent basis with everything comingtogether and the revelation being a moment where you inevitably pauseto take stock and shake away your complacency, and work at your memoryto pick up the clues that have been peppered throughout. It's the samecase over here as I didn't see much coming, save for directors GlennFicarra and John Requa (whose previous film was the remarkable I LoveYou Phillip Morris) to pull the rug from under my feet and making me go"I should have known".I'd always prefer Steve Carell in non comedic roles such as Dan in RealLife, that while there are funnier moments, he doesn't draw too muchattention to his comedic side unlike his well known 40 Year Old Virginrole, which in some ways this contained shades of. Ryan Gosling acesthe player role with his smooth talking charms until his washboard absgot in the way, and Emma Stone was well, Emma Stone in what would be atypical young adult female stuck with that fantasy that her princecharming will finally propose. Julianne Moore was a delight to watch asthe woman who had betrayed her husband and still getting confused overher emotions, while Jonah Bobo almost stole the show with hisperformance as the young man so determined and infatuated with hisbabysitter, it just hurts. Marisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon add wonderfulsupporting screen time and star-studdedness to the ensemble.With some incredibly witty lines that do make you want to sit up andnote that real people rarely talk like they do, scripted in a certainway and delivered with impeccable, deliberate timing, Crazy, Stupid,Love. is a romantic comedy that punches above its weight. It may berote and formulaic in some parts, but as mentioned its Bollywood comedyinspired plot development is something fun to behold. Recommended.

iheart_ny (2012-05-24 21:20)

Crazy Stupid Love

Let me start off my review of this film by saying that I hate SteveCarrell. Watching him on "The Office" for all those years was painful,because his character, and it seemed his acting style was unbelievablystupid and bland. While he has occasionally been a decent funnyman, Ihadn't seen him in a role where he was remotely interesting andbelievable.Yesterday, I was at the movies, pretty much the whole day, and decidedto check out "Crazy Stupid Love", because it had decent critical andaudience reactions, better than I expected for a romantic comedy, andit had some of my favorite people in it, including Julianne Moore, EmmaStone and Ryan Gosling. And, to say the least, I was caught bysurprise.One of the reasons for this, is because "Crazy Stupid Love" works as aromantic comedy and a drama. Most romantic comedies, I find, arepredictable, stale, and essentially one carbon copy after another, ofthe same exact story, played out in a slightly altered way. Youprobably won't guess where "Crazy Stupid Love" is going. While theending itself is a lot like I predicted it, there's a big plot twistthat presents itself in the climax that I really didn't see coming. Andthat's reason enough to see this movie.However, there are many (better) reasons. One of the big reasons isthat it avoids making any of its characters caricatures. Each characteris real, and flawed, screwed up and deals with his or her problems in avery grounded and grown-up way. It revolves around Cal (Carell), a man who has been married to Emily(Moore) for 25 years, and is rocked by the revelation that she wants adivorce, after sleeping with a co-worker (Kevin Bacon). Cal beginshanging out at a chic pickup bar, where he meets Jacob (Ryan Gosling),a lothario who takes a different woman home every night. He picks up onCal's depression, and helps him turn into something of a womanizer.Meanwhile, Cal's floppy-haired thirteen-year-old son Robbie has a crushon his older babysitter, who has a little crush of her own. Also, Jacobmeets Hannah (Emma Stone), a young lawyer who has heard every pickupline, and therefore, has a quite jaded outlook on love.And it is the first film or TV show to portray Steve Carrell as a humanbeing. He can act! Who knew? I actually liked him in this role, becauseI felt that he wasn't Michael Scott, or that guy from "Get Smart", or"The 40-Year-Old Virgin", but an average guy whose life didn't turn outas he had hoped. I bought him in this role. He more than keeps up withthe rest of the film's stellar cast.Another revelation here is Ryan Gosling. I've mostly seen him indepressing dramatic roles ("Blue Valentine", "The Notebook"), whilehere, he proves himself to be a cunning comedian. He has spectacularcomedic timing, and clearly has a lot of fun here with the otheractors. He seems to be the superficial funnyman at first, and, like therest of the cast in this terrific film, opens up, and surprises theaudience.While Julianne Moore is always great, her character and Carrell'scharacter mesh in a way that makes you believe that their marriagelasted 20+ years. Emma Stone is on fire right now, doing a great rolein "The Help", she shines just as much here, if not more. Her characteris instantly lovable, and I can't wait to see what she does next. This film also features Marisa Tomei, who gives a fierce, and veryfunny performance as a recovering alcoholic schoolteacher who dates Calfor awhile after his divorce. Kevin Bacon also made me laugh, asEmily's co- worker, who was her post-divorce rebound. While these twohave brief roles, they are very funny and make the most of what theyare given.What makes this film memorable for me, is that it is realistic. Itdoesn't paint love out to be this magical thing that will automaticallymake anyone happy. It knows that love doesn't always work out, andoccasionally ends in heartbreak and/or violence. And while it'ssomewhat a cautionary tale, it ends hopefully and overall, kind ofhappily. It made me cry a little, and it made me laugh a lot. And whileit could have been a bit longer, and given its characters some moreroom to grow, it was a satisfying overall package that I wouldrecommend to someone who's trying to escape the summer of superheroflicks and sequels.

cultfilmfreak (2012-05-24 09:36)

Stupid, Pretentious, Movie.

Oh what a movie trailer can hide. In this case, a side-story involvingnewly separated couple Steve Carell and Julianne Moore'sthirteen-year-old son, so overwritten and unrealistically wise for hisage, spouting pretentious dialog that seems like narrative about lostlove and infatuation.And then the movie's buried lead, the friendship between single's barswinger Ryan Gosling, picking up one supermodel per night, andbrokenhearted Carrel, who wandered into the place and can't stoppouting about his wife's infidelity.The best parts you've seen in the trailer or commercial, Gosling makinga real man out of Carrel, giving him advice, pickup lines and newclothes. But that stupid kid, in lust with his seventeen-year-oldbabysitter, who has a creepy crush on Carell and… so many distractionsruin what could have been a simple comedy, overshadowing the mostinteresting character played by Emma Stone, the one girl who's seesthrough Gosling: eventually giving him some real depth.It's just too bad this film has too many people to shed decent light onthe ones that matter, and that the audience paid to see.http://cultfilmfreakreviews.blogspot.com

TxMike (2012-05-24 05:23)

Quirky, entertaining "love" movie with many different entanglements.

It used to be the screwball comedies of the 1950s and 1960s, where youwould get so many complicated relationships. At first we had no ideawhere this one was headed but eventually it turned into a veryentertaining diversion.The mainstream story here involves a married couple who have beentogether for 25 years, and it seems that "love" has become stale. Theyare out for dinner, looking at the menu, when he asks if she knows whatshe wants she looks up and says "I want a divorce." This is a greatsurprise to him, a devoted husband and father.The husband is Steve Carell as Cal Weaver in what amounts to a mostlyserious role for the funny man. His wife is Julianne Moore as EmilyWeaver. This quickly results in his moving to an apartment, and their10 and 13 year old kids struggle with the new developments.Despondent and confused Cal goes to a nightspot and meets Ryan Goslingas Jacob Palmer whose sole purpose in life appears to be picking uppretty ladies for one-night stands. Jacob observes Cal's sloppyappearance and awkward manner and decides to take him under his wing,to give him a new image and teach him the finer points of charming andpicking up women.All this transpires as Cal and Emily are wrestling with their personalfeelings, realizing that they just want to be back together but notknowing how to handle it. The movie is filled with established actors,many in small roles, including the likes of Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei,Kevin Bacon, and Josh Groban in a non-singling role. As the movie nearsits end the entanglements get more and more complicated, and funnierand funnier. Entertaining movie! SPOILERS: The Emma Stone character, a newly minted lawyer, is actuallythe daughter of Cal and Emily, they were only 17 when she was born. Shemeets the dastardly Jacob and brings him home as her new love, whichstartles Cal, who it turns out had a one-night stand with his own13-yr-old son's teacher who didn't know he was married. And on and onit goes. All seems to end well though as Cal and Emily realize they aresoul mates and will get back together, forgiving each for unwisetransgressions.

rebecca-ry (2012-05-23 09:01)

A Pleasant Surprise

This film surprised me, despite liking most of the actors in it Ialways assumed this would be another cheesy chick-flick with some gagsthrown in but, it was so much better!The script is simply great. Nearly every actor in this film performswell and it is obvious they all got along well whilst filming. Theroles of Julianne Moore and Steve Carell worked well but I particularlyliked scenes with Ryan Gosling and Carell talking in the bar becausethere are some points where you can see they are both trying to hold inlaughter and I love seeing that in films. I like to know they enjoyedacting as much as I enjoyed watching this film. Towards the end of the film it begins to get cheesy but not to thepoint where you start to lose interest. There are some genuinelaugh-out-loud moments in this film and it can leave you in tears withsome comedy sequences. Emma Stone's role in this was probably the best. She was hilarious asusual in this with her storyline being quite bizarre. That was my mainobjection to this film, everyone's storyline was great or at leastreally funny despite being unbelievable but, the story between Carelland Moore's son and his babysitter was just ludicrous. Not even funny,at some points it was just awkward watching it - especially at the end.I of course will not give anything away but it is the main factor ofthis film which wasn't really needed, it did provide some laughs but itgot to the point where you just didn't want to see them in the film atall.Overall, this is a really good film. It's been a while since I saw areally good girl's film. I would recommend it to those who likecomedies but particularly romantic comedies. If you don't like thatgenre then maybe this film isn't for you but you will still laugh atsome parts.

beckibeetle-1 (2012-05-22 21:01)

Wait for Red Box

This is the second movie I have ever walked out of. (The first one was"Reds," which I went to with my Mom, and it was just too long for her -we left at Intermission.) So, it's the first movie I made the choice towalk out of. It was over the line at times, like when one high-school girl advisesanother how she can pursue having sex with a friend's father, butmainly simply tedious, slow and going nowhere. None of the characterswere likable enough to care what happened to them next or how it ended.Too bad Steve left The Office...My favorite thing about the movie was the couple's backyard, which saysa lot. Maybe they should have had a talking dog in it or something. Haha.

francine-k (2012-05-22 18:52)

FInally a real Rom com

Crazy, Stupid, Love was really a great RomCom. Extremely funny, has theheart melting effect and the actors and actresses were perfect fortheir roles. Steve Carell never disappoints along with the brilliantRyan Gosling who is great with comedies, which we don't regularly seehim in sadly. Emma Stone was as always laugh out loud funny and totallyrelatable towards woman, showing what woman really do think when itcomes to guys, and Julianne Moore was fantastic for her depressed midlife crisis cheater, was just hilarious. All of them together plusamazing supporting cast made this movie a lovable watch. I woulddefinitely this movie to anyone who is looking to laugh and for somefun. I would say that this movie deserves a solid 8/10

bkralb (2012-05-22 13:50)

Crazy, Stupid Love

Why is this movie getting such high marks? Steve Carell (Cal) isboring. Julianne Moore is uninteresting as Emily, his soon to be exwife. Jonah Bobo (Robbie) is totally obnoxious as their "oh so worldly"13 year old son. Ryan Gosling (Jacob) is laughable as the "over thetop" smooth and suave gentleman who can pick up any woman (and is goingto take Cal under his wing to show how easy it is). Keven Bacon (DavidLindhagen) walks through his role as though sleeping. Marisa Tomei(Kate) Makes a lot of noise in a couple of scenes, but not much else.Analeigh Tripton (Jessica) saves every scene she is in and is a breathof fresh air. Ryan Gosling must have watched several George Clooneymovies prior to taking this part. I wonder if this was a "tongue incheek" performance. After all, he's handsome, rich, drives a sportscar, wears solid gold watches, has no visible means of support, anddelivers the line, "you wanna get outta here" with such style, thatevery woman he delivers it to, winds up in his bed. He's really painfulto watch. In the end, you really don't care who ends up with who - thecharacters are just that unappealing. Speaking of endings, this moviehas one of the worst ever. My thoughts when it ended: "I wanna getoutta here."

ThreeGuysOneMovie (2012-05-22 00:32)

Not as Funny as it Should Have Been

Steve Carell is Cal Weaver, a 40 something dad who has embraced middleage mediocrity. He goes out to dinner with his baggy chinos, and NewBalance sneakers on. He takes his relationships with his children andhis wife for granted and is basically living with the cruise controlon. Cal's wife Emily (Julianne Moore), drops a bombshell on Cal whilethey are out at dinner and tell him that she wants a divorce and thatshe has been sleeping with someone else.Cal is devastated and is forced to re-think his life now that he has tolive alone. In order to drown his sorrows, Cal starts hanging out at alocal bar where he meets Jacob (Ryan Gosling), a womanizing playboy whoagrees to help Cal find his mojo and win back his wife. I had some highhopes for this movie. They certainly found enough stars to be in it.Does it translate into a great movie? Not really. The problem with thismovie isn't the acting it's the script. The plot is pretty ridiculousand there are unnecessary twists that just didn't need to be includedin the movie. It plays out like a bad episode of Threes Company.Although I was impressed with the acting from Jonah Bobo as Cal's son,he is also the victim of some of the most ridiculous scenes in themovie. It's too bad because he could have had one of the moreinteresting performances in the film.Julianne Moore seemed to playing the exact same character she played inThe Kids Are All Right. A 40 something mom that cheats on her spouseand is confused about what she wants from life. She was the leastimpressive of the cast for me. The rest of the cast did a good job,Ryan Gosling continues to impress. He proves that he can do comedy justas well as he does anti-hero. I am getting a little worried that we arestarting to get over saturated with him though. How about you give us alittle time to miss you? I know that I was supposed to like this one,its 78% percent fresh on RT but for me some decent acting can't make upfor a flakey unrealistic script that wants us to believe in one toomany coincidences.

nightmareXS (2012-05-20 20:11)

Who said it's funny ?!??

Yesterday, I came here to see the movie's review so me and my buddies(a group of 8 guys)would check this movie tonight. It was rated 7.9 andmost of the reviews were positive and encouraging (The best rom com inyears, something different, a must see, none stop laughing, good formale audience, bla bla bla).So I was so sure that it's going to be agreat movie or at least a good one. And here I am just coming from the theater. GOD it was SOOOOOO BORING!! Extra silence moments with a lot of boring music topped with a bunchof cheezy lines. It's not a movie for guys, NOT AT ALL! they have toremove "Comedy" cuz it's plain drama with different love stories andfew laughter just like any other normal movie.I gotta admit, it has a good story with a kickass twist in the end butthis was the only 5 minutes I enjoyed. Just don't believe the"Hilarious, Funniest movie of the year" reviews cuz really it wasboring boring BORING. All what we all wished for is to forward somescenes cuz we know what is gonna happen or it was just ridiculouslymeaningless scenes.PS. I just give it a 3 stars for the sake of fairness. A star for thetwist, a star for mocking twilight and a star for the popcorn in myhand.

julian-mumford (2012-05-20 14:35)

Highly recommended and yes, a romantic comedy that even boys can enjoy.

Middle aged Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) is stuck in a marriage that isdoing OK but has little gas left in the tank to overcome the next hill.When at dinner, Cal asks what his wife Emily (Julianne Moore) wouldreally like, she asks for a divorce, just as he plumps for the safechoice, Creme Brulee.The film pulls no punches when it comes to the break up and Carrellproves again he can act and conveys real pain in the enforced silenceand awkward moments after the initial bombshell. Top tip, always lockthe car doors when relaying bad news.Hanging out at a pick up bar, he comes to the attention of Uber smoothguy in the form of Jacob (Ryan Gosling), the sort of guy who could pickup chicks even without his designer shades, clothes and moves. Takingpity on the newcomer, after hearing once too often about Emily's newlover, he decides to provide him with a makeover.We have the usual movie montage of designer shopping, Jacob advises "bebetter than Gap" whilst imparting tips and tricks to enable Cal toscore, and once he gets going, he certainly puts some runs on theboard. Kate (Marisa Tomei) opening the flood gates and Cal gets sweptalong on a wave of opportunity. This sounds rather tacky and tastelessbut it is done with such charm and intelligence, that all can beforgiven. Gosling surprises with a light comedy touch and Carrel'sfunny bone credentials are already proved, here toning it down toordinary man level and is all the more effective for it.Kevin Bacon plays the office person of interest for Emily and perhapsgets the best line in the film. Emma Stone continues to add to hergrowing resume, rebounding off her on screen wet rag of a boyfriend bybewitching ladies man Jacob, after a charming drunken date, which thenleads the screenplay into unexpected directions.All the cast do good work even down to the love struck thirteen yearold son (Jacob Bobo), complete with odd haircut and a hopelessunrequited crush on his babysitter (Analeigh Tipton). At timesresembling a french farce, this is spirited, amusing self aware cinemawith a great script. But also has time for poignant quiet scenes,notably the remote relighting of the boiler, which mark the as film aswell above average.Nobody is really bad. Selfish and self absorbed they maybe but theensemble have reasons to act in the way they do and in a welcomechange, unnecessarily hurting people is not on the agenda. You careabout the characters and they get a chance to breathe, grow and change,so not your usual teenage sex comedy at all.Summary A great comedy, full of charm, intelligence, humour and unexpectedtwists and turns.Highly recommended and yes, a romantic comedy that even boys can enjoy.http://julesmoviereviews.blogspot.co.nz/

FatMan-QaTFM (2012-05-19 22:22)

A few genuinely funny moments completely smothered by an overall insulting premise.

Comedies have not had a good track record with me in recent years.Crazy, Stupid, Love didn't present much via trailer to keep me frompre-assigning a bad review, but what the heck – that's why we watch themovies!CSL (as it will be called for brevity's sake) opens with about 90% ofthe trailer – Emily (Julianne Moore) wants a divorce, Cal (SteveCarell) can't handle it and jumps out of the car. Cal meets Jacob (RyanGosling), professional womanizer, and transforms from a simple,committed husband to a complete sleaze-bag. Meanwhile, Jessica likesCal, Robbie likes Jessica, David likes Emily, Hannah likes Jacob, Mollylikes TV, TV likes trailers for CSL, and we all follow with easedespite the attempts at misdirection.The wheels really came off in the second half as all these story linesattempt to resolve and still try to bring the funny. As Carson onScriptShadow says, "the first 60 (minutes) were all one big setup, andthe last sixty (minutes) are a continuous ESPN ticker feed of payoffs."Unfortunately, he was talking about the script which I'm going toassume was significantly better than the film itself. Characterdevelopment poses a problem for the payoffs. Actions indicate that eachand every one of the characters are not just flawed, realistic people,but the kind of morally bankrupt individuals that can only come fromthe Hollywood mind. We're to believe that despite sleeping with anumber of women in the… what… 4 months of separation from his wife,that Cal still really loved his wife throughout it all? That would flyif he slept with one woman, had remorse, and settled in to the mainplot of trying to win his soul mate back, but we're supposed to believehis sincerity through some cliché dialog and a few pitiful acts of"love." Likewise, Jacob has slept with, if we follow the logic of thelimited timeline we see, thousands of women. We're likewise to believethat in one hasty montage where he, for the first time, laughs andshows more than that half-dimension he was assigned, he's now a changedman? Cal's reaction to that is probably the most genuine moment in theentire film.I can't even begin to unravel the twisted morals of that CSL throws atthe audience. I don't go to movies to judge, honestly, but when thetheme supposedly is "true love", this warped L.A. view on love insultsanybody with a real relationship. If I were separated, slept with adozen women, and then had the unmitigated gall to claim I never stoppedloving my wife through it all, I would expect her to not just laugh inmy face but also beat me to within an inch of my life. Cheating is onething, but Cal's response to it is so odious that it just revealed thathe never was the simple good-guy at the core. Once you pull that rugout from under the plot, there's nothing enjoyable or believable aboutthis film.As if audiences couldn't be insulted enough, this unabashedly LosAngeles-centric film was crudely dumped in to the indie film moldcomplete with quirky soundtrack, minimal locations, and lots ofhand-held shots. Really? Do they think audiences can be fooled thateasily? Them and critics both, apparently – Tom Long of the DetroitNews thinks that this film should get an Oscar. He uses little phraseslike "astoundingly strong ensemble" and "Gosling, probably the bestdramatic actor of his generation" while wishing all the while he couldget out of this hell-hole known as Detroit and live with the realpeople in California. Get a grip, man!With a few genuinely funny moments completely smothered by an overallinsulting premise, Crazy, Stupid, Love doesn't really give you anythingto love.

Gordon-11 (2012-05-19 16:46)

A rare romantic comedy with substance and heart

This film is about the love life of a man after his wife asks for adivorce, as he gets groomed by a lady killer who can get any woman hewants."Crazy, Stupid, Love" is a lot of fun, with loads of really funnyscenes. Steve Carell acts great as a romantically inept man, his socialskills in a bar is so bad that it just makes you laugh. Ryan Gosling isso charming and attractive, I think he really carries his characteroff. And the teacher is wildly funny too. There are many romanticentanglements between the characters, and at the end, the wholesituation is so crazy that it is just outrageously funny."Crazy, Stupid, Love" has got this other side as a semi-serious dramaabout love and how we treat our loved ones. The film seems to be happyand mischievous, and yet there are a few very touching scenes. I findthe scene when Julianne Moore calls Steve Carell about the heater verytouching. The scene where Steve Carell makes a speech at the end iseven more touching. "Crazy, Stupid, Love" is a rare romantic comedywith substance and heart. I really like it.

Steven (2012-05-19 00:35)

This one is really all over the place

Crazy, Stupid, Love has many good qualities to it, but is also reallyall over the place. Steve Carell stars in this comedy-drama as Cal, whohas been married since he was 17. Julianne Moore plays his wife Emily.One night while Cal and Emily are out to dinner, they talk about whatthey want. Cal says that he wants a dessert, while Emily says that shewants a divorce. On the drive home, Emily confesses that she slept withanother man. Cal becomes too heart broken to care.Meanwhile, their son Robbie admits that he is in love with hisbabysitter Jessica. However, Jessica refuses to do anything about itother than to tell Robbie to stop.While heart broken and moved away, Cal spends his nights going to a barupset talking about how his wife cheated on him. This catches theattention of Jacob, a ladies man who knows how to pick up women, playedby Ryan Gosling. Jacob takes Cal under his wing and teaches him tochange his looks and style and what to say to women in the bar.The film goes through so many crazy twists and turns that directorsGlen Ficarra and John Requa can't focus on what parts to focus on andwhat parts to leave out in the story. While a lot of the twists andturns all come together in the final act, this one felt too much allover the place and couldn't decide if this is a comedy or a drama. Theonly real flaw to me in this film is the directing job.The acting in this film is great. Steve Carell is a great leading actorand shows that he can carry a film and rocks at being the broken manwho finds his way of getting his wife back. Ryan Gosling nails the roleof the ladies man who takes the broken man how to move on, even thoughhis game has been a bit lacking. Julianne Moore is great at being thefickle wife who wants a divorce, yet can't stand the guy who she ishaving an affair with. Marisa Tomei only has a few short scenes, butshe rocks them all. Tomei's character Kate is a middle school teacherwho Cal picks up in a bar. There is a funny twist about her. KevinBacon plays David, the man who Emily had an affair with. Bacon isn'tgiven much to work with, but he does a good job. Emma Stone is alsogood as Hannah, an up and coming lawyer who Jacob finds himselfcrushing on.The film is worth watching just for the acting alone. The cast ensemblecarries the film through its flawed directing and decent screenplay.

DarkVulcan29 (2012-05-18 07:31)

A good blend of comedy and drama

Cal(Steve Carell), a man in his mid 40's, who has the life most menwould envy, he has a good marriage, and great relationship with hiskids. But Cals good life quickly comes crashing down, when his wifeEmily(Julianne Moore), asks for a divorce, cause she slept with aco-worker(Kevin Bacon). Emily is not proud of it, and feels it is likea mid life crisis, Cal quickly gives up and moves out, while at a bar,and drowning in his sorrows, he gets the attention of Jacob(RyanGosling) a real ladies man, who wants to help Cal, and help him getback in the dating game, but that quickly gets tested, when Jacob fallsfor Hannah(Emma Stone).The trailer was so misleading, it made you feel like you where gonnaroute for just Steve Carell, but when you finally watch you're unsurewho to route for, Steve Carell or Juliane Moore. I think they workedbeautifully well together, you really believe the feelings the have forone another. And Ryan Gosling is quite a scene stealer, he has funnychemistry with Carell, and Stone. This was an enjoyable comedy/drama.

Jackpollins (2012-05-17 18:32)

From Michael Scott to Ladies Man, From Blue Valentine to Crazy Stupid Love

When Steve Carrell left The Office, I was about as sad as I have everbeen about a TV show. When Ryan Gosling struggled in both Half Nelsonand Blue Valentine, I was about as sad as I have ever been about amovie. With those two statements being said, I really wanted a lightromantic comedy, I was tired of all the sadness. I am glad to report Iactually did not get that, at least not out of Steve Carrell's plot. Icould have never imagined this film working as a drama..but now I couldnever imagine it working as a comedy. While Gosling is charming anddoes create a good amount of laughs in the film, the main focus is onCarrell's character, who's just a sad sack character. That being said,I loved not only Cal (Carrell's character), but I also loved Carrellhimself in the film. Now that James Spader is joining The Office, andnow that Carrell is throwing himself into a dramatic role, and doing avery good job at it, I could see myself really not missing MichaelScott much at all. Also, there are a lot of attractive women in thisfilm, such as Emma Stone, Julianne Moore, and Marisa Tomei. They allhave really good plots as well, especially Marisa Tomei. Kevin Bacon isalso quite funny as Moore's co-worker/new boyfriend. To end my review,I must mention Robbie (Jonah Bobo) falling in love with Jessica(Analeigh Tipton), which I may have even liked more than Gosling orCarrell's plot. It's such a sweet plot, and Tipton and Bobo are risingyoung stars. Overall, don't go into Crazy Stupid Love expectingCarrell's next Date Night or Gosling's next Blue Valentine, go inexpecting something in between those two. If you wish for either ofthose two and not the other, you're going to be disappointed,otherwise, just like me, you'll love it.

Turfseer (2012-05-17 09:02)

Occasionally amusing tale of bad boy mentor devolves into sentimental romance

'Crazy, Stupid, Love' is billed as a romantic comedy but ends up muchmore as a sentimental romance. The inciting incident comes up quitequickly: Wife Emily Weaver (Julianne Moore) announces she wants out ofher 25 year marriage to husband Cal (Steve Carrell), after revealingthat she's been having an affair with a colleague at work. It's apoorly written scene as Cal meekly acquiesces to Emily's demand and wenever really find out why she's so dissatisfied in the first place.After some rather long-winded scenes where Cal drowns his sorrows indrink at a local bar, bemoaning his fate as a marriage castaway, hefinally meets Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling) and we break into the secondact of the story. Jacob is a womanizer, a 'player' of great skill, ifyou will, who takes pity on Cal and decides to teach him how to pick upwomen. This is perhaps the best and most amusing part of the moviewhere Jacob first picks out a new wardrobe for Cal and then orders himto watch him in action, as he seduces women step-by-step. At first Calis resistant but soon learns how to imitate Jacob's every line and heends up bedding nine women, one of whom happens to be Kate, the publicschool teacher of Cal's son Robbie, played by Marisa Tomei.Unfortunately, Kate is one of Tomei's least likable roles in awhile, asshe is an over the top nymphomaniac, who ends up continually giving Calthe finger later in the story, for bedding her and then leaving herhigh and dry.Meanwhile, other ditsy complications accrue. Robbie becomes obsessedwith he and his sister's babysitter, Jessica, who in turn develops acrush on Cal. There's a rather unfunny bit where Jessica, upon theadvice of a seductive high school student rival, takes nude pictures ofherself with the plan of sending them to Cal, only to have them fall,way too easily, into the hands of her hot head father. Even worse isthe obnoxious infatuation that festers in Robbie throughout the film.How much can an audience take of a 13 year old's creepy obsession thatonly abates at just about the final scene of the movie?'Crazy, Stupid, Love' becomes a lot less 'crazy' in the second half,more stupid and pours on the 'love', a little too thick. It seems thatthe cool Jacob character turns into a cream puff when he falls forHannah, who happens to be the adult daughter of Emily and Cal. Thereare virtually no clues (except for Cal's reference early in thenarrative, to 'Nana', Hannah's childhood appellation), so the big'twist' feels forced and unearned, on the part of the film'sscenarists. Now the tables are turned and Jacob is turning to Cal for'advice' on how to handle relationships. Cal's insecurity and goofinessis a now a badge of honor, as he can show Jacob how to 'be himself'.While Cal wants to cut off all ties with Jacob, now that he's fallenfor his daughter, it doesn't take long before an extra dose of 'love',becomes the more prominent moniker in 'Crazy, Stupid, Love'. Yes, Calsoon sees the light and is willing to embrace ex-bad boy Jacob, as hisnew, potential son-in-law. He interrupts Robbie's speech asSalutatorian of the school, who is in the middle of a put down abouttrue love, due to his rejection by Jessica. Cal recounts his courtshipof Emily, affirming his love for her. After the graduation ceremony,Cal hands Robbie the nude photos of Jessica, as his 'consolationprize'. Robbie agrees to call off his stalking of Jessica, by shakingher hand and promising to look her up only once he finally begins tolook more like his Dad in a few years. As if we couldn't predict it,Cal and Emily are seen reminiscing about the events of the past yearand the implication is of course, that they soon will be back together.Even more disappointing than the transformation of bad boy Jacob intointo a virtual milquetoast, Julianne Moore is saddled with the weakestrole in the film. We learn little about Emily throughout the film—andthe pseudo-romantic subplot involving the dull office colleague, DavidLindhagen (Kevin Bacon), proves to be a subplot that goes nowhere.'Crazy, Stupid, Love' is occasionally amusing, especially when Carrelland Gosling face off in the first half. But by the denouement, we'reback in the realm of the predictable, and even worse: an egregious,sentimental, happy-ending. Try this once but see it a second time atyour own peril!

(2012-05-17 01:51)

Hilarious with Humor......

Well i saw Crazy, Stupid, Love wasn't expecting much but this movie isso funny. I always had liked Steve Carell for his funny acts but inthis movie his funny and emotional both and i really like it. RyanGosling at its best. I didn't liked much his Drive movie but in this heis awesome, cool and funny too. Emma Stone the cute and cuddly thoughsexy has given good performance. Jonah Bobo as Steve Carell's son inthis has his own issues of love.This movie is related among some characters who are tit-tat related toeach other. One of the ending scene is seriously funny.You should definitely watch it.......

desired-movie70 (2012-05-16 06:22)

Fun With Characters

The movie suffers perhaps from too many characters and subplots but allthe actors appear to have fun with their characters. The script, by DanFogelman, is unusually and gratifyingly bisexual - i.e., it boastsscenes from both the male and female points of view. And the Themovie's biggest surprise is the revelation of Gosling as cunningcomedian. The complexities of the heart are given a dispiritedly glibonce-over in Crazy, Stupid, Love., a comedy-drama that pretends to be ahonest look at relationships when it's really just burdened withsimplistic characters and sitcom set-ups. Star and producer SteveCarell provides a dependable soulfulness to this story about a troubledmarriage, but the increasingly preposterous plotting makes the filmhard to love or even like.