Crazy Stupid Love made for an enjoyable movie-going experience. The movie included an incredible cast, interesting explorations of different phases of relationships, comedic moments, touching moments, fabulous fashion and a great set and camera work. Spoilers about certain scenes - not overall plot - below.
One of my favorite performances was by Marisa Tomei as Kate, the 8th grade English teacher. She is hysterical in the parent-teacher conference scene and seems to enjoy acting out her wrath towards Cal and informing Emily of his indiscretion. Ryan Gosling was smoking hot as Jacob, the playboy with enough money and time to make an art of bedding women. Emma Stone, a favorite of mine since Superbad, played Hanna with a lovely mix of intelligent and practical Lawyer-in-the-making as well as affectionate and spontaneous later in the film. I loved her best friend in the film, Liz, particularly when she tells the older man at the bar “in what world?” regarding his hopeful stare and approach. Steve Carrel and Julianne Moore did a nice job in their roles. I suppose it was due to the writing, not acting that I didn’t ever fully see them as really broken up. There was always a connection which is not necessarily a bad thing but it made for less true conflict in the film’s plot.
Regarding the timeline of relationships, Robbie shows us the pre-relationship infatuation state; the time where anything is possible and the object of your affection has no flaws because you don’t know him or her well enough to see the imperfections. In the first half of the movie, Jacob is similar to Robbie in terms of lusting after women he doesn’t know well. After Hannah enters his life, the couple shows what Emily and Cal most likely looked like in their young courtship. Emily and Cal display people falling out of love. We meet them at the start of the movie in a stagnant state. They have all the pieces of the American dream, beautiful kids, house, car, and good jobs but are not living fully. Cal is schlumpy and Emily is distracted by a suitor at work.
Another relationship that was interesting was Cal’s friend Bernie and his wife’s marriage. The cliché that couples choose sides when their married friends divorce is shown in a funny scene where Bernie hurriedly drops of a Macy’s bag with cologne (a parting gift for Cal), chugs a glass of chardonnay, explains his wife said they’re picking Emily in the divorce and rushes out of the bar. The couple is later seen dealing with discipline of their daughter, the object of Robbie’s affection, and smiling at one another at Cal’s mention of loving your spouse while simultaneously hating them during his impromptu 8th grade graduation speech.
The funny moments ranged from slapstick - like Jacob throwing Cal’s beat-up New Balances into the lower level of the mall and the all-out man-brawl interrupting what should have been an incredibly romantic scene in Emily’s back yard, to the subtle laughs when Jessica rips down the childish cat poster behind her upon reviewing her naked pictures or then goes on to take more. Touching moments included Cal’s sneaky yardwork to keep the family home pristine, Emily’s phony premis for a phone call when she acted as if she needed man of the house advice but really just wanted to speak to her estranged husband, Robbie’s many valiant acts of courting Jessica and his confession of “Googling” what to do when mom is crying in bed.
The fashion was top notch. I’ve seen a few articles online regarding how the makeover from unpopular duckling to cool swan is usually done on female characters. It was fun to watch Cal morph into a sharp dressed man under Jacob’s tutelage. Cal finds confidence thanks to his new outfits although he laments sweating under multiple layers during his first attempt at flirting later at the bar. Jacob’s suits, body draping sweaters, David Yurman rings and tight pants made sense for the rich tomcat. Hanna and Emily got to wear some great shoes. The moviegoer next to me made a covetous comment regarding Emily’s grey suede peeptoe clogs (worn to the parent teacher conference). I think the costume designer did a great job with almost all the outfits (did not like Hanna’s dress when she takes Jacob to meet her family). Poor Jessica got stuck with the worst hairdos. I’m not sure if that was an attempt to make her look more like the girl next door and less like a model or what. Side note: I wonder if New Balance, Ralph Lauren Polo and Gap are trying to figure out how to rebound from unflattering portrayals onscreen.
The set and camerawork were great. I thought I might get sick of seeing the same bar over and over again but it became a character and it worked. The staff and patrons rotated. Ryan’s place was too gorgeous. I’m trying to figure out how to live in it…with a little color added to the black, white and grey tones dominating every room. Emily and Cal’s home was lovely with a big back yard and warmly lit rooms. I liked the camera work for scenes like when Emily is in the principal’s office and we, as the audience, are viewing from a distance through the office doors. Some of the other shots that made an impact on me were the profile shots showing Cal and Jacob sunglass shopping then Hannah running towards Jacob to do the “dirty dancing thing.” Overall, the filming felt smooth and cohesive to me.
I didn’t go too much into plot in this recap but shared some observations on the film. I will definitely recommend the movie to friends. I loved the characters, plot and message of fighting for your soul mate as well as the outfits and lovely backdrops. What did you think? Was it worth going to see in theaters?
