Crazy, Stupid, Love
Encyclopedia
Crazy, Stupid, Love. is a 2011 romantic
comedy-drama
film directed by Glenn Ficarra
and John Requa
, written by Dan Fogelman
, and starring Steve Carell
, Ryan Gosling
, Julianne Moore
, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei
, Analeigh Tipton
, and Kevin Bacon
. The film was released on July 29, 2011.
) gets the surprise of his life when he learns that his wife Emily (Julianne Moore
) cheated on him with a coworker, David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon
), and wants a divorce. After moving into his own apartment, Cal begins frequenting a bar night after night, talking loudly about his divorce, until he attracts the attention of a young man named Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling
). Jacob is a womanizer who successfully beds women each night, although a young woman named Hannah (Emma Stone) recently rejected his advances. Taking pity on Cal, Jacob agrees to teach him how to pick up women. Jacob takes Cal shopping, outfitting him with an entirely new wardrobe and begins teaching him the art of seduction. As they spend their evenings at the bar together, a friendship begins to blossom.
On Cal's first attempt to seduce a woman he meets a teacher named Kate (Marisa Tomei
). She initially rejects his awkward advances, but eventually they sleep together at his apartment. In the following weeks, Cal manages to successfully seduce multiple women, although he remains troubled by his crumbling marriage. He only sees Emily again at a parent teacher conference at his 13 year-old son Robbie's (Jonah Bobo
) school. They almost reconcile but the teacher with which they are meeting turns out to be Kate who reveals to Emily that Cal had seduced her. Emily leaves in disgust and begins dating David.
Meanwhile, Hannah, a law student, is about to take the bar exam and is expecting a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, Richard (Josh Groban
). Hannah's best friend, Liz (Liza Lapira
), doesn't think she is happy with Richard and thinks she should have hooked up with Jacob the night the two met. After Hannah passes the bar exam, Richard does not propose, but instead extends a job offer at his law firm, leaving Hannah hurt and disappointed. Hannah storms from the restaurant and returns to the bar where she originally rejected Jacob's advances. Upon finding Jacob at the bar, Hannah pulls his attention from another young woman and embraces him in a passionate kiss. The two return to Jacob's home and plan to have sex, but end up staying awake all night talking about themselves. During this conversation, it is hinted that the reason Jacob began helping Cal was that his own father was in a similar situation. Jacob soon starts a relationship with Hannah, and as a result of the amount of time they spend together, ends up distancing himself from Cal. Cal, not understanding why Jacob is avoiding his phone calls, slips back into a lonely and depressive state.
At the same time, Robbie makes numerous grand gestures to try to win the heart of his 17-year-old babysitter, Jessica Riley (Analeigh Tipton
). Robbie tells Cal that he believes Jessica is his soulmate just like he believes Emily is Cal's soulmate. Unfortunately, Jessica is not only repulsed by Robbie's advances, but also harbors a crush on Cal. After learning of Cal's womanizing, Jessica, on the advice of a classmate, takes naked photos of herself to send to Cal and tucks them away in an envelope inside her dresser drawer.
Later, when Cal is maintaining the backyard of the house at night, which he has been secretly doing since the divorce, he sees Emily making a call to him through the window, asking him for help relighting the pilot light of the furnace. Seeing that she is nowhere near the furnace and that the call was a pretense to talk to him, Cal decides to try win her back.
Meanwhile, as Jacob and Hannah peruse the aisles of a store, Jacob finally decides to return Cal's calls and apologizes for being unreachable. He tells Cal that he needs advice because he thinks he is falling for a girl (Hannah) and that he is on the way to meet her mother. Cal reassures Jacob, telling him to just be himself, and gets off the phone, pleased that Jacob finally called back and that he was able to give Jacob some advice rather than the other way around.
In preparation for winning his wife back, Cal and his kids create a makeshift mini golf set in their backyard to remind Emily of their first date. During the gathering, Jacob and Hannah show up at the house unexpectedly and Hannah is revealed to be Cal and Emily's daughter. At that moment, Jessica's father, Bernie (John Carroll Lynch
), shows up and attacks Cal, having seen the naked pictures of Jessica in the envelope addressed to Cal. Jessica arrives and desperately tries to stop her father's attacks, telling him that Cal knew nothing of the pictures. Robbie gets upset that Cal is Jessica's secret crush. David also arrives to return Emily's jacket from a previous date. Jacob responds by attacking David for stealing Emily away from Cal. Cal, Jacob, David, and Bernie then get into a scuffle which is soon broken up by the police, after which Cal leaves everyone in frustration.
Cal starts spending his time at the bar again and receives a visit from Jacob, who confesses that he is in love with Hannah. Cal, however, cannot approve of their relationship because he has seen Jacob's ethically-loose lifestyle.
At Robbie's eighth grade graduation, Robbie is the Salutatorian
and gives a speech about how he no longer believes in true love and soulmates. Cal stops him and instead begins to recount his courtship with Emily to the audience, saying that, while he doesn't know if things will work out, he will never give up on Emily. With renewed faith, Robbie reaffirms his love for Jessica to audience applause. After the ceremony, Cal finally approves of Jacob and Hannah's relationship. Jessica, flattered by Robbie's declaration of love, gives him an envelope containing the nude photos of herself to "get him through high school." Cal and Emily have a laugh talking about the events that have transpired the past year, as Robbie looks on at them and grins.
reports that 78% of 193 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.9 out of 10. CinemaScore
polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was a "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert
gave Crazy, Stupid, Love a 3 out of 4 stars and remarked that it "is a sweet romantic comedy about good-hearted people". A.O. Scott of the New York Times was also positive and gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, stating "Crazy, Stupid, Love is, on balance, remarkably sane and reasonably smart". Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times
gave the film a 4 out of 5 review as well and said that it "conjures up the bittersweet magic of first loves, lasting loves, lost loves and all the loves in between". Daniel Sarath of New In Cinema gave the film 3 stars but praised it for being "a romantic comedy that is actually romantic and comedic".
Some reviewers were less favourable, however, such as Christy Lemire at Associated Press
who believes that "it never gets crazy or stupid enough to make you truly fall in love with it", giving the film a 2/4 rating. James Rocchi
of MSN Movies was particularly critical, giving it 1/5 and remarking that it is "a star-studded lump of fantasy and falsehood".
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
film directed by Glenn Ficarra
Glenn Ficarra
Glen Ficarra is an American writer, producer, actor and director.Ficarra met John Requa at Pratt Institute, where both were studying film. After college they went to work in animation for the TV channel Nickelodeon....
and John Requa
John Requa
John Requa is a screen writer of Cats & Dogs, Bad Santa and the 2005 remake Bad News Bears.The DVD commentary for Bad News Bears revealed that Requa was to have had a bit role in the film, but it was not shot....
, written by Dan Fogelman
Dan Fogelman
Dan Fogelman a River Vale, New Jersey native is a American screenwriter, producer, novelist and actor. He is best known for the writing of screenplay for the Disney animated movie Tangled and the Pixar movie Cars....
, and starring Steve Carell
Steve Carell
Steven John "Steve" Carell is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
, Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Thomas Gosling is a Canadian actor and musician. He first came to public attention as a child star on the Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club and went on to appear in other family entertainment programmes including Are You Afraid of the Dark? , Goosebumps , Breaker High and Young Hercules...
, Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore is an American actress and a children's book author. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards....
, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei is an American stage, film and television actress. Following her work on As The World Turns, Tomei came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987...
, Analeigh Tipton
Analeigh Tipton
Analeigh Christian Tipton is an American figure skater, actress, and fashion model, most noted for placing third on Cycle 11 of America's Next Top Model and for starring in the 2011 film Crazy, Stupid, Love....
, and Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....
. The film was released on July 29, 2011.
Plot
Cal Weaver (Steve CarellSteve Carell
Steven John "Steve" Carell is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
) gets the surprise of his life when he learns that his wife Emily (Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore is an American actress and a children's book author. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards....
) cheated on him with a coworker, David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....
), and wants a divorce. After moving into his own apartment, Cal begins frequenting a bar night after night, talking loudly about his divorce, until he attracts the attention of a young man named Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Thomas Gosling is a Canadian actor and musician. He first came to public attention as a child star on the Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club and went on to appear in other family entertainment programmes including Are You Afraid of the Dark? , Goosebumps , Breaker High and Young Hercules...
). Jacob is a womanizer who successfully beds women each night, although a young woman named Hannah (Emma Stone) recently rejected his advances. Taking pity on Cal, Jacob agrees to teach him how to pick up women. Jacob takes Cal shopping, outfitting him with an entirely new wardrobe and begins teaching him the art of seduction. As they spend their evenings at the bar together, a friendship begins to blossom.
On Cal's first attempt to seduce a woman he meets a teacher named Kate (Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei is an American stage, film and television actress. Following her work on As The World Turns, Tomei came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987...
). She initially rejects his awkward advances, but eventually they sleep together at his apartment. In the following weeks, Cal manages to successfully seduce multiple women, although he remains troubled by his crumbling marriage. He only sees Emily again at a parent teacher conference at his 13 year-old son Robbie's (Jonah Bobo
Jonah Bobo
-Life and career:Bobo was born in Roosevelt Island, New York. His mother, Denise Raimi, is a physical therapist and personal trainer , and his father, Scot, works in software. He has a younger sister named Georgia. His great-grandmother was Tampa businesswoman and philanthropist Salha "Mama" Bobo...
) school. They almost reconcile but the teacher with which they are meeting turns out to be Kate who reveals to Emily that Cal had seduced her. Emily leaves in disgust and begins dating David.
Meanwhile, Hannah, a law student, is about to take the bar exam and is expecting a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, Richard (Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
). Hannah's best friend, Liz (Liza Lapira
Liza Lapira
Liza Lapira is an American actress best known for playing Kianna in the 2008 film 21 and Special Agent Michelle Lee in NCIS. She is also known for her role as Maggie Del Rosario on Huff.-Life and career:...
), doesn't think she is happy with Richard and thinks she should have hooked up with Jacob the night the two met. After Hannah passes the bar exam, Richard does not propose, but instead extends a job offer at his law firm, leaving Hannah hurt and disappointed. Hannah storms from the restaurant and returns to the bar where she originally rejected Jacob's advances. Upon finding Jacob at the bar, Hannah pulls his attention from another young woman and embraces him in a passionate kiss. The two return to Jacob's home and plan to have sex, but end up staying awake all night talking about themselves. During this conversation, it is hinted that the reason Jacob began helping Cal was that his own father was in a similar situation. Jacob soon starts a relationship with Hannah, and as a result of the amount of time they spend together, ends up distancing himself from Cal. Cal, not understanding why Jacob is avoiding his phone calls, slips back into a lonely and depressive state.
At the same time, Robbie makes numerous grand gestures to try to win the heart of his 17-year-old babysitter, Jessica Riley (Analeigh Tipton
Analeigh Tipton
Analeigh Christian Tipton is an American figure skater, actress, and fashion model, most noted for placing third on Cycle 11 of America's Next Top Model and for starring in the 2011 film Crazy, Stupid, Love....
). Robbie tells Cal that he believes Jessica is his soulmate just like he believes Emily is Cal's soulmate. Unfortunately, Jessica is not only repulsed by Robbie's advances, but also harbors a crush on Cal. After learning of Cal's womanizing, Jessica, on the advice of a classmate, takes naked photos of herself to send to Cal and tucks them away in an envelope inside her dresser drawer.
Later, when Cal is maintaining the backyard of the house at night, which he has been secretly doing since the divorce, he sees Emily making a call to him through the window, asking him for help relighting the pilot light of the furnace. Seeing that she is nowhere near the furnace and that the call was a pretense to talk to him, Cal decides to try win her back.
Meanwhile, as Jacob and Hannah peruse the aisles of a store, Jacob finally decides to return Cal's calls and apologizes for being unreachable. He tells Cal that he needs advice because he thinks he is falling for a girl (Hannah) and that he is on the way to meet her mother. Cal reassures Jacob, telling him to just be himself, and gets off the phone, pleased that Jacob finally called back and that he was able to give Jacob some advice rather than the other way around.
In preparation for winning his wife back, Cal and his kids create a makeshift mini golf set in their backyard to remind Emily of their first date. During the gathering, Jacob and Hannah show up at the house unexpectedly and Hannah is revealed to be Cal and Emily's daughter. At that moment, Jessica's father, Bernie (John Carroll Lynch
John Carroll Lynch
John Carroll Lynch is an American actor, known for his role as Drew Carey's cross-dressing brother on The Drew Carey Show, and for his role as Norm, the unassuming husband of Margie Gunderson in Fargo....
), shows up and attacks Cal, having seen the naked pictures of Jessica in the envelope addressed to Cal. Jessica arrives and desperately tries to stop her father's attacks, telling him that Cal knew nothing of the pictures. Robbie gets upset that Cal is Jessica's secret crush. David also arrives to return Emily's jacket from a previous date. Jacob responds by attacking David for stealing Emily away from Cal. Cal, Jacob, David, and Bernie then get into a scuffle which is soon broken up by the police, after which Cal leaves everyone in frustration.
Cal starts spending his time at the bar again and receives a visit from Jacob, who confesses that he is in love with Hannah. Cal, however, cannot approve of their relationship because he has seen Jacob's ethically-loose lifestyle.
At Robbie's eighth grade graduation, Robbie is the Salutatorian
Salutatorian
Salutatorian is an academic title given, in the United States and Canada, to the second highest graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is traditionally based on grade point average and number of credits taken, but...
and gives a speech about how he no longer believes in true love and soulmates. Cal stops him and instead begins to recount his courtship with Emily to the audience, saying that, while he doesn't know if things will work out, he will never give up on Emily. With renewed faith, Robbie reaffirms his love for Jessica to audience applause. After the ceremony, Cal finally approves of Jacob and Hannah's relationship. Jessica, flattered by Robbie's declaration of love, gives him an envelope containing the nude photos of herself to "get him through high school." Cal and Emily have a laugh talking about the events that have transpired the past year, as Robbie looks on at them and grins.
Cast
- Steve CarellSteve CarellSteven John "Steve" Carell is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
as Cal Weaver - Ryan GoslingRyan GoslingRyan Thomas Gosling is a Canadian actor and musician. He first came to public attention as a child star on the Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club and went on to appear in other family entertainment programmes including Are You Afraid of the Dark? , Goosebumps , Breaker High and Young Hercules...
as Jacob Palmer - Julianne MooreJulianne MooreJulianne Moore is an American actress and a children's book author. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards....
as Emily Weaver - Emma Stone as Hannah Weaver
- Marisa TomeiMarisa TomeiMarisa Tomei is an American stage, film and television actress. Following her work on As The World Turns, Tomei came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987...
as Kate Tafferty - Kevin BaconKevin BaconKevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....
as David Lindhagen - Analeigh TiptonAnaleigh TiptonAnaleigh Christian Tipton is an American figure skater, actress, and fashion model, most noted for placing third on Cycle 11 of America's Next Top Model and for starring in the 2011 film Crazy, Stupid, Love....
as Jessica Riley - Julianna GuillJulianna GuillJulianna Guill is an American actress. She best known for role as Bree in Friday the 13th and Scarlet Haukkson in the webisode series My Alibi. She also co-starred in the TBS series Glory Daze as Christie.-Early life:...
as Madison - Crystal ReedCrystal ReedCrystal Reed is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Denise in the feature film Skyline and as Allison Argent in the MTV series Teen Wolf.-Life and career:...
as Amy Johnson - John Carroll LynchJohn Carroll LynchJohn Carroll Lynch is an American actor, known for his role as Drew Carey's cross-dressing brother on The Drew Carey Show, and for his role as Norm, the unassuming husband of Margie Gunderson in Fargo....
as Bernie Riley - Beth LittlefordBeth LittlefordElizabeth Anna Halcyon "Beth" Littleford is an American actress, comedienne, and television personality. She is perhaps best known for being one of the original correspondents on the popular Comedy Central satirical news series The Daily Show from 1996 to 2000; she is also known as Tripp's mother...
as Claire Riley - Josh GrobanJosh GrobanJoshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
as Richard - Liza LapiraLiza LapiraLiza Lapira is an American actress best known for playing Kianna in the 2008 film 21 and Special Agent Michelle Lee in NCIS. She is also known for her role as Maggie Del Rosario on Huff.-Life and career:...
as Liz - Mekia CoxMekia CoxMekia Cox is an American actress and dancer, known for her recurring role as Sasha in the second and third seasons of 90210 and her role as a dancer in the Michael Jackson concert series This Is It and the related film Michael Jackson's This Is It. In 2010, she assumed a supporting role in Lost...
as Tiffany - Jonah BoboJonah Bobo-Life and career:Bobo was born in Roosevelt Island, New York. His mother, Denise Raimi, is a physical therapist and personal trainer , and his father, Scot, works in software. He has a younger sister named Georgia. His great-grandmother was Tampa businesswoman and philanthropist Salha "Mama" Bobo...
as Robbie Weaver - Joey KingJoey KingJoey Lynn King is an American child actress and singer who is known for her starring role as Ramona Quimby in the 2010 adaption of Beverly Cleary's well-known book series with the same title.- Personal life :...
as Molly Weaver - Richard Steven HorvitzRichard Steven HorvitzRichard Steven Horvitz, sometimes credited as Richard S. Horvitz, Richard Horvitz, or Richard Wood, is an American actor and voice actor best known for his work as the voice of the original Alpha 5 in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers Zeo, and Power Rangers Turbo, as Raz in Psychonauts,...
as Lowe's assistant - Reggie LeeReggie Lee (actor)Reggie Lee is an American actor who played William Kim on the show Prison Break and also appeared as Tai Huang in two Pirates of the Caribbean films, as well as The Fast and the Furious...
as Officer Huang
Critical response
Early reviews for Crazy, Stupid, Love have been positive. Review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 78% of 193 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.9 out of 10. CinemaScore
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.-Background:...
polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was a "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave Crazy, Stupid, Love a 3 out of 4 stars and remarked that it "is a sweet romantic comedy about good-hearted people". A.O. Scott of the New York Times was also positive and gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, stating "Crazy, Stupid, Love is, on balance, remarkably sane and reasonably smart". Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
gave the film a 4 out of 5 review as well and said that it "conjures up the bittersweet magic of first loves, lasting loves, lost loves and all the loves in between". Daniel Sarath of New In Cinema gave the film 3 stars but praised it for being "a romantic comedy that is actually romantic and comedic".
Some reviewers were less favourable, however, such as Christy Lemire at Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
who believes that "it never gets crazy or stupid enough to make you truly fall in love with it", giving the film a 2/4 rating. James Rocchi
James Rocchi
James Rocchi is a freelance film critic living and working in Los Angeles. He currently writes reviews for MSN.com, amctv.com, Redbox, Mother Jones Magazine and other outlets. He is a current member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Society, the Online Film Critics Society and the Broadcast Film...
of MSN Movies was particularly critical, giving it 1/5 and remarking that it is "a star-studded lump of fantasy and falsehood".