Starring: Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling
Directed by: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa
Distributed: Warner Brothers
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running time: 118 minutes
Overall Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars
“Crazy, Stupid, Love” is definitely well written and reminds me of the way I felt when I left the theaters for “Love Actually” (which is my favorite romantic comedy of all-time). I am not the biggest fan of Steve Carell and Julianne Moor, who are obviously the stars, but they are not too bad in this. The saving grace though is Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, who I absolutely love. They are both fantastic. Also notable supporting role needs to go to the simply hilarious Josh Grobon. I was not a major fan of Ficarra and Requa’s first film “I Love You Phillip Morris” but this one is definitely a good improvement.
The Blu-ray picture is decent but isn’t anything special since it is just a comedy. It is clear though and the sound also is notable plays a nice balance between the score and the vocals. The special features included on this are actually pretty baron and does not even include a commentary from this high profile cast. The main extra is about 12 minutes of deleted scenes. Don’t get me wrong though these are some really great laugh-out-loud scenes which could have been put in the film but probably cut to keep it under two hours. The next extra is definitely passable called “The Player Meets His Match”, waste of time. The next one is fun but nothing special called “Steve and Ryan Walk Into a Bar”.
Synopsis: At fortysomething, straight-laced Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) is living the dream: good job, nice house, great kids and marriage to his high school sweetheart. But when Cal learns that his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore), has cheated on him and wants a divorce, his “perfect” life quickly unravels. Worse, in today’s single world, Cal, who hasn’t dated in decades, stands out as the epitome of un-smooth. Now spending his free evenings sulking alone at a local bar, the hapless Cal is taken on as wingman and protégé to handsome, thirtysomething player Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). In an effort to help Cal get over his wife and start living his life, Jacob opens Cal’s eyes to the many options before him: flirty women, manly drinks and a sense of style that can’t be found at Supercuts or The Gap. Cal and Emily aren’t the only ones looking for love in what might be all the wrong places: Cal’s 13-year-old son, Robbie (Jonah Bobo), is crazy about his 17-year-old babysitter, Jessica (Analeigh Tipton), who harbors a crush on Cal. And despite Cal’s makeover and his many new conquests, the one thing that can?t be made over is his heart, which seems to keep leading him back to where he began.
