Stuck in Love (2012)

An acclaimed writer, his ex-wife, and their teenaged children come to terms with the complexities of love in all its forms over the course of one tumultuous year.

Director:

Josh Boone

Writer:

Josh Boone

Stars:

Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly, Lily Collins

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Greg Kinnear	...	Bill Borgens
Jennifer Connelly	...	Erica
Lily Collins	...	Samantha Borgens
Nat Wolff	...	Rusty Borgens
Kristen Bell	...	Tricia
Logan Lerman	...	Louis
Liana Liberato	...	Kate
Michael Goodwin	...	Professor Abbott
Stephen King	...	Himself (voice)
Rusty Joiner	...	Martin
Patrick Schwarzenegger	...	Glen
David Carzell	...	Rodney (as David Morris)
Barbara Weetman	...	Diane
Alex ter Avest	...	Becky (as Alexandria Lauren ter Avest)
Zeeko Zaki	...	Gus

Storyline

Meet the Borgens. William Borgens is an acclaimed author who hasn't written a word since his ex-wife Erica left him 3 years ago for another man. In between spying on Erica and casual romps with his married neighbour Tricia, Bill is dealing with the complexities of raising his teenage children Samantha and Rusty. Samantha is publishing her first novel and is determined to avoid love at all costs - after all she's seen what it has done to her parents. In between hook ups, she meets "nice guy" Lou who will stop at nothing to win her over. Rusty, is an aspiring fantasy writer and Stephen King aficionado, who is on a quest to gain 'life experiences'. He falls for the beautiful, but troubled Kate and gets his first taste of love and a broken heart. A tale of family, love (lost and found), and how endings can make new beginnings. There are no rewrites in life, only second chances.

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Plot Keywords:

writer | journal writing | woman naked under covers | father son relationship | struggling writer | 

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Taglines:

A story of first loves and second chances.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, teen drug and alcohol use, and some sexual content

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 May 2013 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Writers

Filming Locations:

North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$34,967 (USA) (5 July 2013)

Gross:

$78,950 (USA) (23 August 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Informant Media, MICA Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Well-known literary writers who are mentioned or whose books characters are shown reading include Richard Ford, Joan Didion, Stephen King, and Raymond Carver.

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Quotes

Rusty Borgens: I remember that it hurt. Looking at her hurt.

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Soundtracks

Gospel
Performed by The National
Written by Matthew Berninger and Aaron Dessner
Licensed courtesy of 4AD
By arrangement with Beggars Group Media Limited

User Reviews

First loves, great loves, family love, and love-of-books love

In the Borgens family, the acclaimed author father, the college student freshly published author daughter, and the socially awkward high-school student son, also a writer to-be, are all stuck in problems of love. Samantha's story was the most relatable for me. You could understand how she is afraid of getting hurt by love, and how the plan she has revised to protect herself seems to make perfect sense, while at the same time you know she is not gonna be able to go through with it. Rusty's story, although not particularly new, is very well-written and Nat Wolff really brings it to life. The father's story was for me the least intriguing, but still okay.

The cast is top-notch. Kinnear and Connelly, great. Logan Lerman. Yeah, he's golden, end of story. If you want more on that I suggest reading some review on "the perks of being a wallflower" (and btw that's another film to watch if you liked this one). Nat Wolff was amazing, a promising new talent, and I am waiting to see what he does next! And finally, Kristen Bell has a small role, and she is funny as always, a great addition for a bit of a comic break to the film's stream.

In the meantime, the love of books is perpetrating the film. It makes you wanna go and get lost in a book, it reminds you of that feeling when you read something you love, something that completely absorbs you. The little written lines in the character introduction part were also a nice touch.

The movie has a number of unrealistic moments, which other reviewers properly mention. It's just that... I didn't really care much about those little flaws. This is not about whether you are too young to be a published author at the age of 19, or whether it's feasible to carry around an amount of pot enough to make a salad. Realism was not the point. Plus, as Sam says, there are the realists and there are the romantics, and I guess this film is a romantic's work. Just the ending was a bit too happy for my taste - after all, I remain a cynical realist despite loving this film...

Overlook the mediocre ratings, trust that Kinnear and Connelly chose well, and watch this movie. It's simple, it's sweet, it's good stuff.