Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

A middle-aged husband's life changes dramatically when his wife asks him for a divorce. He seeks to rediscover his manhood with the help of a newfound friend, Jacob, learning to pick up girls at bars.

Directors:

Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Writer:

Dan Fogelman

Stars:

Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Carell	...	Cal Weaver
Ryan Gosling	...	Jacob Palmer
Julianne Moore	...	Emily Weaver
Emma Stone	...	Hannah
Analeigh Tipton	...	Jessica
Jonah Bobo	...	Robbie
Joey King	...	Molly
Marisa Tomei	...	Kate Taffety
Beth Littleford	...	Claire Riley
John Carroll Lynch	...	Bernie Riley
Kevin Bacon	...	David Lindhagen
Janine Barris	...	Heather
Josh Groban	...	Richard
Mekia Cox	...	Hip Hairdresser Tiffany
Julianna Guill	...	Madison

Storyline

Cal (Steve Carell) and Emily (Julianne Moore) have the perfect life together living the American dream... until Emily asks for a divorce. Now Cal, Mr Husband, has to navigate the single scene with a little help from his professional bachelor friend Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). Make that a lot of help...

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Plot Keywords:

love | divorce | bar | friend | one night stand | 

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Taglines:

This Is Crazy

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for coarse humor, sexual content and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 July 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Dan Fogelman/Steve Carell Project

Filming Locations:

Red Carpet Wine & Spirits - 400 East Glenoaks Boulevard, Glendale, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$19,104,303 (USA) (29 July 2011)

Gross:

$84,244,877 (USA) (11 November 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carousel Productions (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Jonah Bobo's character, Robbie, is deleting Jessica's number from his cellphone you can read that another contact in his phone is 'Joey K'. Joey King is the name of the actress playing Molly, his sister on screen.

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Goofs

When Jacob is standing naked in front of Cal at the gym the conversation moves from the locker room to the sauna when the camera switches between characters, but the characters never switch positions.

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Quotes

Jacob: The bags under your eyes looks like Hugh Hefner's ball sack.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #21.68 (2013)

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Soundtracks

"The Heart's A Lonely Hunter"
Written by David Byrne, Rob Garza and Eric Hilton
Performed by Thievery Corporation featuring David Byrne
Courtesy of ESL Music

User Reviews

Crazy, Stupid, Love is a real crowd-pleaser

It was roughly two-thirds of the way into Crazy, Stupid, Love when I realized how invested the audience in my theater had become. The key scene involved a mom cleaning her daughter's room, a seemingly mundane moment that produced gasps and cries of "Oh no!" even before the character makes a very revealing discovery. It's a scene that, much like the rest of Crazy, Stupid, Love, a heartwarming and, at times, painfully honest depiction of three couples at various stages in each of their relationships, unfolds not with predictability so much as inevitability. Unlike your average, generic romantic-comedy, this movie focuses less on the end, on who will end up with whom, than on the special and often surprising connections that are made along the way. 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. They strike an ideal balance between humor and drama, allowing the overall tone to develop organically. Laughs come mostly in chuckles at the cleverness of a line or its delivery and are never awkwardly forced in to lighten up a scene, while the emotions feel genuine without becoming manipulative. Most of all, their restrained approach allows the actors to breathe and to fully embody the characters they've been given.

Speaking of which, has there ever been a more likable group of people assembled for a film, much less a romantic comedy? The cast gels remarkably well, and at no point is anyone singled out as a villain; even when a character threatens to become unlikable, the actor portrays him or her with such keen understanding that it ultimately becomes hard, if not impossible, to not root for each and every one of them. Whenever the film tiptoes the line toward schmaltzy, they pull it back, making every line and emotion feel utterly real. 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. Julianne Moore and Emma Stone are both lovely as Emily and Hannah, respectively, radiating a down-to-earth presence and relatability that many other Hollywood actresses seem to lack. Also worth noting are Analeigh Tipton and Jonah Bobo, who form Crazy, Stupid, Love's youngest romantic pairing and have been all but ignored by the movie's publicity campaigns despite their obvious talents.

What truly sets Crazy, Stupid, Love apart from other modern-day romantic comedies, aside from the perceptive writing and direction and a dream cast, is that it strives to be meaningful, rather than just mindless, predictable fluff. Though the movie employs its share of clichés (precocious kid, guy falls for the one girl who initially rejected his advances, etc.) , it's often done with a knowing wink, most obviously when, after an altercation with Emily, his ex, and rain begins to pour down on him, Carell's despondent Cal mutters, "What a cliché." It shows that love is messy, irrational, sweet and universal, filled with regrets and tears as well as hope and joy. 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. It's the perfect date movie, and so much more. To all the other ones, the mediocre, cornball, lazy, offensive rom-coms and chick-flicks out there, Ryan Gosling has a message for you: be better than The Gap. Be better than The Gap.