Crazy Stupid
Love (dir. Glenn Ficarra and John Requa,
2011) is exactly what it sounds like – another relationship-mocking rom-com. Insert
a bit of heart and a few male characters unhappily in love instead of traditionally
distressed women, and you get a watchable film with Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling,
Julianne Moore and Emma Stone leading the pack.
Carell plays Moore’s husband Cal Weaver who
has been “buying the wrong size suit for 20 years” and whose wife has thus
ordered a divorce for dessert (no pricetag for that one-bummer!). Oh, and there’s
this David Lindhagen (cameo by Kevin Bacon) guy who plays the third wheel, but we’ll
be hearing that name a lot in the context...be warned! Having overheard Cal
crying in the bathroom his boss is pleased to point out it’s not cancer, ONLY a
divorce...but that’s where films irony only starts to emerge. Cal’s 13-year old
son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) is in love with his slightly older nanny Jessica (ANTM
graduate Analeigh Tipton) while she has hots for the newly divorced daddy
himself. Complicated yet? It only gets better.
Unable to forgive & forget (and somewhat returning
to his 4o year old virgin self) Carell’s character starts heading to a bar
where he witnesses Ryan Gosling’s Jacob leave with a different girl every
night. Surprisingly...ok, not really, but still: macho man himself offers help
in finding Cal’s manhood yet again. In reality, he must be as tired of hearing Lindhagen’s
name as the rest of us. The credit cards then come in handy and Cal soon
becomes and older version Jacob himself...on the outside at least. He still
wants to get back with the missus and live happily ever after (stupid, but not
crazy, and most certainly L.O.V.E.) and, luckily for Cal, it only takes bedding
9 women in the process. Lindhagen can’t beat that!
Feminists might erupt in fury at the sight of
women in the bar who appear to be nothing more than sexual objects, falling for
Jacob’s cheesy lines like bees for honey. That certainly is the first
impression until...let’s face it: the film indirectly critiques those who
decide to wake up the morning after as oppose to denying the “wanna get out of
here?” invite. Head to your nearest bar for evidence and witness a real-life
irony of the narrative in Crazy Stupid
Love (in your own time).
It is still a misery to me why has Golsing – who’s
gradually building a reputation of an indie king – chosen the role of Jacob? Was
he looking for an easy way to establish himself as the Hollywood’s ‘it boy’? Whatever
the reason, ladies will certainly take notice while critics may dwell on
limitations of this macho man character. Either way – notice taken twice!
Ficarra and Requa
might not have made the best rom-com ever and neither were they aiming to do
so. Regardless, it is a very watchable piece with a dash of irony and
occasional laughs just where they belong. Not an eye-opener, but, hey, at least
someone has made a good joke about what’s become of old-school first dates and
romance altogether.
Predictably (spoiler alert), those not
looking for love find it eventually and those with a broken heart get cured. Yet
you cannot help but wonder: why do men get through the relationship drama
easier and with, err, more grace?
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