Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

Directors:

Glenn Ficarra
John Requa

Writer (WGA):

Dan Fogelman (written by)

Release Date:

29 July 2011 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

This Is Crazy

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Divorce | Bar | Friend | One Night Stand

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

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
Zayne Emory	...	Robbie's Friend (Eric)
Crystal Reed	...	Amy Johnson
Joanne Brooks	...	Waitress for Cal and Kate
Reggie Lee	...	Officer Huang
Caitlin Thompson	...	Taylor
Karolina Wydra	...	Jordyn
Tracy Mulholland	...	Megan
Katerina Mikailenko	...	Stephanie
Liza Lapira	...	Liz
Jenny Mollen	...	Lisa
Charlie Hartsock	...	Sad Sack
Algerita Wynn Lewis	...	Robbie's Principal (as Algerita Lewis)
Wendy Worthington	...	Woman (Who Gives Cal Tour)
Dan Butler	...	Cal's Boss
Tiara Parker	...	Gabby
Laurel Coppock	...	Sophia
Rasika Mathur	...	Emily's Assistant
Joshua Sternlicht	...	Bartender
Jasen Salvatore	...	Bartender #2
Michael J Long	...	Bartender #3 (as Mike Long)
Dillon Neaman	...	Bartender #4
J-ray	...	Bartender #5 (as J-Ray Hochfield)
Janae Nicole Caudillo	...	Bartender #6
Christopher Darga	...	Lowe's Salesman #1
Rich Hutchman	...	Lowe's Salesman #2
Richard Steven Horvitz	...	Lowe's Salesman #3 (as Richard Horvitz)
Lauren Stone	...	Mall Clerk
Megan James	...	Hannah's Colleague #1
Rebecca Flinn	...	Hannah's Colleague #2
Billy Atchison	...	Hannah's Colleague #3
Ehrin Marlow	...	Hannah's Colleague #4
David Orosz	...	Hannah's Colleague #5
Camille Abelow	...	Hannah's Colleague #6
Maija Polsley	...	Jacob's Date
Christian Pitre	...	Waitress with Check
Heather La Bella	...	Female Bartender
Georgia Hurd	...	Jacob's Girl
Lisa Brown	...	Jacob's Girl #2
Tingting Yu	...	Jacob's Girl #3
Raena Cassidy	...	Raena
Ami Haruna	...	Ami
Jessica Diz	...	Olivia
Tania Wagner	...	Tania
Georgia Treantafelles	...	Georgia
Holly Daniels	...	Assistant Principal
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jennifer Barbosa	...	Amy's Friend (uncredited)
Christian Cage	...	Man Flirting in Bar (uncredited)
Olga Fonda	...	Danielle (uncredited)
Leo Georgallis	...	Bar Patron (uncredited)
Greg Hain	...	Hot Guy at Bar (uncredited)
Ace Antonio Hall	...	Man at Bar (uncredited)
Vivian Khouri	...	Lounge Patron (uncredited)
Leah Kilpatrick	...	Girl at Bar (uncredited)
Konstantine Kurelias	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Laura McDavid	...	Woman on Date (uncredited)
Grasie Mercedes	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Anna Mikaels	...	Parent (uncredited)
Stephane Nicoli	...	Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
David Hall Page	...	Man in Locker Room (uncredited)
Shane Schoeppner	...	Audience Member (uncredited)
Christopher Villar	...	Club Patron (uncredited)
Lily Winn	...	Student (uncredited)

Directed by
Glenn Ficarra
John Requa

Writing credits (WGA)
Dan Fogelman		(written by)

Produced by
Eryn Brown	....	co-producer
Steve Carell	....	producer
Vance DeGeneres	....	executive producer
Denise Di Novi	....	producer
Jeffrey Harlacker	....	associate producer
Charlie Hartsock	....	executive producer
David Siegel	....	executive producer (as David A. Siegel)

Original Music by
Christophe Beck
Nick Urata

Cinematography by
Andrew Dunn		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Lee Haxall

Casting by
Mindy Marin

Production Design by
William Arnold

Art Direction by
Sue Chan

Set Decoration by
David Smith

Costume Design by
Dayna Pink

Makeup Department
David LeRoy Anderson	....	makeup artist: Steve Carrell (as Dave Anderson)
Kimberly Carlson	....	hair stylist
Deborah La Mia Denaver	....	makeup artist: Julianne Moore
Roxane Griffin	....	key hair stylist
Barbara Olvera	....	hair dresser: Ms. Moore & Ms. Tomei
Geri B. Oppenheim	....	key makeup artist
Peter Tothpal	....	hair department head
Peter Tothpal	....	hair stylist: Steve Carell
Cinzia Zanetti	....	makeup artist
Deborah La Mia Denaver	....	makeup department head (uncredited)
David Forrest	....	makeup artist: Miss Tomei (uncredited)
Barbara Olvera	....	hair dresser: Julianne Moore (uncredited)

Production Management
Jennifer Corey	....	production supervisor
David Siegel	....	unit production manager
Jeffrey Harlacker	....	post-production supervisor (uncredited)
Mark Scoon	....	executive in charge of production (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stephen E. Hagen	....	first assistant director (as Stephen Hagen)
Brandon Lambdin	....	second assistant director
Jon Recher	....	second second assistant director (as Johnny Recher)

Art Department
Alejandro Aguilar	....	construction foreman
Perry Bachelor	....	set dresser
Jennifer R. Blair	....	art department coordinator
John Bratton	....	set dresser
Richard Brunton	....	leadman (as Rich Brunton)
John Coven	....	storyboard artist
Phil Dagort	....	set designer (as Philip Dagort)
Nicole Eldredge	....	set dresser
China Fox	....	assistant property master
Douglas Fox	....	property master (as Doug Fox)
Ernesto Gaecia	....	construction foreman
Neil Gahm	....	propmaker foreman
Brenner Hugh Harris	....	set dresser
Robert Kusler	....	propmaker
David B. Long	....	propmaker (as David Long)
Merdyce McClaran	....	on-set dresser
Michael McCombe	....	greens foreman (as Michael J. McCombe)
Jeffrey McMahon	....	construction foreman (as Jeff McMahon)
Barbara Mesney	....	set designer
Anthony Millr	....	modeler
Ken Murohy	....	propmaker
Steven O'Bannon	....	construction foreman
Kim Richey	....	assistant property master
John H. Samson	....	construction coordinator (as John Samson)
Kelly Schultz	....	set dresser (as Kelton Schultz)
Paul Stanwyck	....	paint supervisor
R. Lucas Stewart	....	propmaker
Michael P. Sweeney	....	assistant property master (as Michael Sweeney)
Samuel J. Tell	....	set dresser (as Sammy Tell)
Robert Williams	....	propmaker
Rani Woods	....	sustainability staff assistant
Tim Ackers	....	standby painter (uncredited)
Bennett Andrews	....	greensman (uncredited)
Brett Chapman	....	props (uncredited)
Doug Crawford	....	propmaker (uncredited)
Eva Firshein	....	buyer (uncredited)
Charles Kern	....	camera scenic (uncredited)
Andrew Kim	....	set decorating assistant (uncredited)
Tony Miller	....	lead plaster foreman (uncredited)
Chris Patterson	....	property assistant (uncredited)
Eric Rosenberg	....	graphic designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Ron Bartlett	....	sound re-recording mixer
Nick Carbone	....	cable
Johnna Chism	....	first assistant sound editor (as Johnna Chism Restori)
Carmen Flores De Tanis	....	assistant sound editor
David Lee Fein	....	foley artist (as David Fein)
Eric Flickinger	....	sound re-recording mix technician
Albert Gasser	....	sound effects editor
Aaron Glascock	....	supervising sound editor
Doug Hemphill	....	sound re-recording mixer (as D.M. Hemphill)
Hilda Hodges	....	foley artist
David Jobe	....	foley mixer
Vanessa Lapato	....	dialogue editor
James Morioka	....	dialogue editor
Thomas J. O'Connell	....	adr mixer
Benjamin Patrick	....	sound mixer
Curt Schulkey	....	supervising sound editor
Chris Shadley	....	cable assistant
Brian Wittle	....	boom operator
Beauxregard Neylon	....	adr mixer (uncredited)
John Joseph Thomas	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Donald Elliot	....	special effects foreman
Michael Lantieri	....	special effects supervisor
Frankie Ludica	....	special effects technician
Matt McDonnell	....	special effects technician (as Matthew McDonnell)
Dan Ossello	....	special effects technician (as Daniel Ossello)

Visual Effects by
Cara Buckley	....	visual effects supervisor: Gravity
Jim Rider	....	visual effects supervisor: Gravity
Eric Swenson	....	visual effects supervisor: on-set (Gravity)
Cynthia Angel	....	visual effects coordinator: Gravity (uncredited)
Leslie Chung	....	digital compositor: Gravity (uncredited)
Kyle Cody	....	digital compositor: Gravity (uncredited)
Sean Curran	....	previz: Gravity (uncredited)
Luciano DiGeronimo	....	digital compositor: Gravity (uncredited)
Adam Francis	....	motion control technician (uncredited)
Mike Leben	....	motion control operator (uncredited)
Ryan Leonard	....	digital compositor: Gravity (uncredited)
Karin Levinson	....	visual effects executive producer: Gravity (uncredited)
Yuval Levy	....	digital effects supervisor: Gravity (uncredited)
Paul Maples	....	motion control operator (uncredited)
David Piombino	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
Chris B. Schnitzer	....	director of visual effects: Warner Bros. (uncredited)

Stunts
Cameron Croughwell	....	stunts
Charles Croughwell	....	stunt coordinator (as Charlie Croughwell)
Jeff Habberstad	....	stunts
Trevor Habberstad	....	stunts
Randy Hall	....	stunts
David Rowden	....	stunts
Erik Solky	....	stunts
Stacey Carino	....	stunt double: Analeigh Tipton (uncredited)
Trevor Habberstad	....	stunt double: Ryan Gosling (uncredited)
Erik Solky	....	stunt double: Steve Carell (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Matthew E. Alper	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera (as Matthew Alper)
Michael Anderson	....	key grip (as Mike Anderson)
Bryan Ashford	....	dolly grip
Mike Connors	....	electrician
Malcolm Doran	....	rigging best boy grip
Mitch Dubin	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Tulio Duenas	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Ben Glass	....	still photographer
Daniel C. Gold	....	camera operator: "b" camera (as Dan Gold)
Steve Graves	....	best boy grip
Matthew Haskins	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Chad Herr	....	company grip
Jessica Lakoff	....	camera loader
Len Levine	....	chief lighting technician
Dennis J. Lootens	....	rigging gaffer
Michael Lowrance	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Greg Mitchell	....	video assist operator
Don Selsor	....	key rigging grip
Victor A. Shelehov	....	dolly grip (as Victor Shelehov)
Jeffrey T. Sweet	....	grip
Chris Toll	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Melvin 'Butch' Von Bulow	....	dolly grip (as Butch Von Bulow)
Alex M. Cacciarelli	....	motion control video assist (uncredited)
Brian Cantrell	....	electrician (uncredited)
Anthony Erlandson	....	grip (uncredited)
Brian Evans	....	electrician (uncredited)
Michael Fitzgerald	....	epk photographer (uncredited)
Sheila Greene	....	rigging (uncredited)
Alexander Griffiths	....	grip (uncredited)
Chris Haarhoff	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Dan Jones	....	electrician (uncredited)
Lee Majors	....	electrician (uncredited)
John Mang	....	dolly grip (uncredited)
Michael A. Mendez	....	best boy grip (uncredited)
Michael Sapienza	....	rigging grip (uncredited)
Chris Shadley	....	video assist/cable (uncredited)
David W. Slodki	....	dimmer board operator (uncredited)
Brent Studler	....	electrician (uncredited)
Mike Visencio	....	rigging assistant chief lighting technician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Chris Bustard	....	extras casting
Kara Lipson	....	casting associate
Mariann H.W. Lee	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Valentina Aulisi	....	costumer: Steve Carell
Kurt J. Blackwell	....	costumer (as Kurt Blackwell)
Lisa Bojarski	....	costumer
Amy Brownson	....	costumer
Corey Deist	....	assistant costume designer
Sharon Fauvel	....	costumer
Bradley Inaba	....	set costumer
Sonny Merritt	....	key costumer
Bob Morgan	....	costume supervisor
Shelli Nishino	....	costumer
Nina Padovano	....	costumer
Kelly Porter	....	set costumer
Tim Wegman	....	costumer
Pablo Borges	....	costumer (uncredited)
Daniel Flores	....	costumer (uncredited)
Suzy Magnin	....	costumer (uncredited)
Cheri Reed	....	additional costumer (uncredited)
Michael Welch	....	set costumer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
David Berman	....	first assistant editor
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
Elana Joy Livneh	....	second assistant editor (as Elana Livneh Lessem)
Jason Miller	....	post-production coordinator
Adam Ohl	....	digital intermediate producer
David Orr	....	color timer
Joe Rogan	....	post-production assistant
Howard Scott Stein	....	digital intermediate editor
Jan Yarbrough	....	digital intermediate colorist
Tim Weyers	....	post-production coordinator (uncredited)

Music Department
George Drakoulias	....	music supervisor
Jim Dunbar	....	music coordinator (as James Dunbar)
Peter Erskine	....	musician
Steve Kaplan	....	score recordist
Jake Monaco	....	orchestrator
Randall Poster	....	music consultant: rock 'n' roll
Jason Ruder	....	music supervisor
Jason Ruder	....	supervising music editor
Adam Sanborne	....	composer: additional music
Casey Stone	....	score mixer
Casey Stone	....	score recordist
Andrew Synowiec	....	musician: guitar
Kim Blackburn Bowen	....	music consultant (uncredited)
Al Clay	....	score mixer (uncredited)
Eric Corne	....	score recordist (uncredited)
George Doering	....	musician (uncredited)
Matt Fausak	....	music editor (uncredited)
Mark Graham	....	music preparation (uncredited)
Frank Longo	....	additional music (uncredited)
David Metzner	....	music editor (uncredited)
Victor Pesavento	....	music preparation (uncredited)
Adam Peters	....	musician: cello soloist (uncredited)
Adam Peters	....	string arrangements (uncredited)
Peter Rotter	....	music contractor (uncredited)
Daniel J. Stimac	....	score mixing assistant (uncredited)
Gina Zimmitti	....	music contractor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Vic Cuccia	....	transportation captain
Dan Romero	....	transportation coordinator (as Daniel Romero)
Tim May	....	driver (uncredited)
Jim Petti	....	transportation co-captain (uncredited)
Don Poole	....	transportation (uncredited)
Dean Winton	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Richie Adams	....	title designer
MacKenzie Allen	....	assistant: Vance Degeneres & Charlie Hartsock
Chung An	....	assistant: Glenn Ficarra & John Requa
Caroline Andrade	....	second assistant production accountant
Chris Angulo	....	assistant: Ryan Gosling
Susannah Barnes	....	assistant: David Siegel
Jules Carideo	....	production coordinator (as Julie Carideo)
Jacob Charney	....	key assistant location manager
Maureen Poon Fear	....	assistant: Denise Di Novi
Stephanie Fugleberg	....	set production assistant
Ruben Guevara III	....	production office assistant (as Ruben Guevara)
Forrest Hartl	....	set production assistant
Patrick Hernandez	....	production office assistant
Jason Inman	....	medic
Eva Jensen	....	studio teacher
Ross Jensen	....	production accountant
Heather Kehayas	....	set production assistant
Jess King	....	assistant production coordinator
Ken Lavet	....	location manager
Jacqueline Lesko	....	assistant: Denise Di Novi
Jennifer Lobban	....	second assistant accountant
Mousy McCallum	....	set production assistant (as Olivia McCallum)
Mark McSorley	....	production office assistant
Guy Morrison	....	key assistant location manager
Crystal Munson	....	set production assistant
Dillon Neaman	....	set production assistant
Paulette Osorio	....	unit publicist
Griffin Pocock	....	production assistant
Jennessa Rose	....	voices
Julianna Rose	....	voices
Emma Siegel	....	set production assistant
Paul Straw	....	production secretary
Carlos Tapia	....	key assistant location manager (as Carlos Tapia-Gullon)
Spencer Taylor	....	set production assistant
Jayne-Ann Tenggren	....	script supervisor
Dawn Terashima	....	set production assistant
Tammy Thomas	....	production assistant
Debbie Tieman	....	first assistant accountant
Nick Tolmasov	....	medic
Jacob M. Torres	....	assistant location manager (as Jacob Torres)
Andrew Turner	....	set production assistant: Los Angeles
Jeff Winn	....	craft service
Tansey Allen	....	production staff (uncredited)
Ryan Babbs	....	stand-in: Kevin Bacon (uncredited)
Nicholas S. Biron	....	assistant location manager (uncredited)
Meghan Burchfield	....	additional set production assistant (uncredited)
Ashley Bush	....	set intern (uncredited)
Rose Cox	....	craft service assistant (uncredited)
Colleen Craig	....	dance double: "Hannah" (uncredited)
Allison Daly	....	payroll accountant (uncredited)
Seth Robert Dusky	....	adr loop group (uncredited)
Lauren Fash	....	set production assistant (uncredited)
Caroline Fife	....	stand-in: Mrs. Julianne Moore (uncredited)
Elan Garfias	....	adr voice (uncredited)
Katherine Grace	....	layout board (uncredited)
James Henderson	....	stand-in: Ryan Gosling (uncredited)
Cody Klop	....	additional voices (uncredited)
Kaitlin Kubiak	....	set intern (uncredited)
Jonathan Levinson	....	set intern (uncredited)
Kevin Maier	....	stand in: Steve Carell (uncredited)
Mandy Noack	....	art production assistant (uncredited)
Mark Palmer	....	craft service assistant (uncredited)
Megan Romero	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Matthew Switzer	....	additional production assistant (uncredited)
Regina Taufen	....	voice actor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Carousel Productions (II)

Distributors

• Acme Film (2011) (Lithuania) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Warner Filmes de Portugal (2011) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Village Films (2011) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment (2011) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2011) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2011) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2011) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2011) (UK) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2011) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2011) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2011) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2011) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2011) (Argentina) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Home Box Office (HBO) (2012) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Warner Home Video (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2011) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• Gravity (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Canali  select wardrobe: Mr, Carell
• Central Casting  extras casting
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes and dollies (as Chapman Leonard)
• Clearance Domain  clearances and research
• Digital Media Services (DMS)  digital asset management
• Direct Tools & Fasteners  expendables
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Film Art  art consulting
• Go For Locations  locations website hosting
• Hula Post  editing systems
• Limelight Catering  catering
• Movie Movers  hair and make-up trailers
• Panavision  camera systems
• River Road Creative  main and end titles
• Scarlet Letters  end titles
• Star Waggons  cast trailers
• Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging  digital intermediate (as Motion Picture Imaging)
• WaterTower Music  soundtrack

Also Known As:

"Love Again" - Japan (English title) (imdb display title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

USA:118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | Datasat | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #46579) | Ireland:15A | Malaysia:PG-13 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Sweden:Btl | Japan:G | UK:12A | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | India:A | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Norway:7 | South Africa:13L | Netherlands:6 | New Zealand:M | South Korea:15 | Germany:12 | France:U

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Carousel Productions (II)

Trivia:

Julianne Moore, who plays Robbie's (Jonah Bobo) mother, played the mother of Josh Hutcherson's character in The Kids Are All Right (2010). Bobo and Hutcherson played brothers in Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): (at around 1h 40 mins) The man in front of Cal is "recording" with the lens cap on.

Quotes:

Cal:Are you pointing at me?
Robbie:You're pointing at him?
Emily:She's pointing at him? OH!

Movie Connections:

References The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)

Soundtrack:

Animal (Remix by Mark Ronson)

Bittersweet, emotionally uplifting and distinctly hilarious

Crazy, Stupid, Love. is one of, if not the best, American romantic comedies of the past decade. This may come as a shock to some (as it surely took me aback) but there is no other way to describe it. Going into an advanced screening of the film earlier this week, I had my doubts that it would be anything outside of generic. But instead of tripe, I got one of the most unexpected surprises I have seen all year.

Cal (Steve Carell) and Emily (Julianne Moore) have hit a rough patch in their long-time marriage, and Emily inadvertently announces to an entire restaurant that she wants a divorce. Down and depressed, Cal starts drinking away his sorrows at a local bar, attempting to make sense of his predicament with anyone who will listen. Jacob (Ryan Gosling), a professional bachelor, takes notice and makes it his personal mission to help Cal get over his wife, and become a new man in the process.

But this is just the main plot thread of the movie. It also follows Jacob's relationship with the absolutely stunning Hannah (Emma Stone), throws in a bit of curveball with Emily being romanced by David (Kevin Bacon), and even has a bit of a focus on Cal's son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) pining over his older babysitter Jessica (Analeigh Tipton). It may sound a little packed with threads and too many characters, but Crazy, Stupid, Love. is able to navigate between each character and couple with ease. It reminded me a lot of Valentine's Day, and how its main goal was to depict how different love is for a sizable amount of couples and singletons. Except it failed miserably at it, and stood out more as an example of every rom-com stereotype you could imagine. Thankfully, Crazy, Stupid, Love. takes the higher road and breathes new life into a stale genre.

While the impeccable cast is more than enough reason why the film succeeds so well in being an atypical film in the genre, it is the crew behind-the-scenes that surprises even more. The film is written by Dan Fogelman, who is best known for a string of Disney films and the atrocious Fred Claus, and is directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who wrote and directed the sadly little seen I Love You Phillip Morris and wrote the now classic Bad Santa. These three would not be the first group on men I would turn to for a film like this, but their relative lack of expertise helps propel the film to the heights it reaches. It takes darkly hilarious turns in certain instances, plays other sequences totally unconventionally, play even more out with a foreboding sense of drama the trailer merely hints at, and trumps more than its share of genre stereotypes. Weaving between the plots lines, they make the film feel unique and different from others, all while giving it an aura of authenticity. While they stumble a bit in the final act with a series of sitcom-like shockers that border on ludicrous, they manage to pull off the rare feat of actually making the audience wonder if these characters will all end up together in the end, or if they will walk their separate ways; something that is truly uncommon for this genre.

Acting wise, the film delivers in spades. Carell gives one of his best performances to date as Cal, moving as swiftly as the script requires between depression and humiliation, and touching and hilarious. The film stretches his dramatic muscle more than most, and allows him to give a performance that does not rely on laughs. The expressions on his face are just devastating in some sequences, and the wonder in other scenes is ridiculously hilarious. It is a performance I hope to see him come back to again, and make even better. Gosling plays against type, and gives an absolutely hysterical performance. He shines brightly in every scene, nailing every line and mannerism, while making this scumbag of a lothario become someone to really care about. He exudes chemistry and helps make everyone else's performance better. Moore and Stone also give great performances, easily balancing the humour with the drama. They are not given nearly as much to do as the guys, but hold their own on- screen.

The supporting cast does even better. Bobo is phenomenal in his role, conveying an innocence and naivety that is more mature than I thought possible. He acts like more of an adult than some of the older cast does in many instances, and gives the performance a well-rounded other young actors would be incapable of. Tipton is not nearly as good, but plays the role of a confused teenager a little better than you would imagine. Bacon does great in a small turn as does Liza Lapira as Hannah's best friend. But it is Marisa Tomei who steals the show from everyone, playing one of Cal's conquests. She is dementedly unhinged and ridiculously over-the-top, but never falters. Her performance may be one-note, but it is easily the most memorable thing about the film.

If I hold anything against the film (other than the final act stumble and the oh-so convenient way one particular scene comes together), it is that it ended. I know I have harped on how unlike other typical romantic comedies Crazy, Stupid, Love. is, but there is really no other way I can rave about it. I easily could have spent more time with these characters, and pined to find out what happened to each of them after the final fade out. The incredibly unlikely pair of Ficarra and Requa has crafted a truly wonderful and hilarious film that is nothing like what you could have expected watching the trailer. It is bittersweet, and easily one of my favourite movies of the summer. And this is coming from someone who loathes almost every single romantic comedy ever conceived.

8.5/10.