Let’s face it; most romantic comedies are pure fluff. So, when a love story with substance emerges, it’s quite notable. Crazy, Stupid, Love. is one of those rare romantic comedies that could appeal to both men and women and presents a story that offers more than the typical boy-meets-girl premise.
Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) is living the dream. He married his high school sweetheart, Emily (Julianne Moore), has a great job, and his kids worship him. He is understandably shocked by the news that Emily cheated on him with one of her co-workers (Kevin Bacon) and wants a divorce. Dejected and terrified to jump back into the dating scene, Cal drowns his sorrows with alcohol at a trendy L.A. bar. When suave ladies man Jacob (Ryan Gosling) overhears Cal’s sob story umpteenth time, he volunteers to help him reclaim his manhood. Jacob cleans him up and teaches him a bit of his own flirtatious skillset, which, until he was recently rebuffed by a beautiful redhead named Hannah (Emma Stone), was a guaranteed ticket to a one-night-stand. Jacob and his aggressive, slick pursuit of women would be annoying if Gosling wasn’t so charming, or without Carell serving as his antithesis. Together, their mentor-student relationship offers plenty of laughs, with Carell’s pursuit of a character played by Marisa Tomei being a highlight.
Armed with Jacob’s tricks of the trade, and quite successful, Cal still longs to get his wife back. Meanwhile, given a second a second chance with Hannah, Jacob finds himself falling in love for the first time. However, he quickly learns that things aren’t always as they seem.
There are half a dozen love triangles in the film—including a subplot involving Cal’s 13-year-old son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) tenaciously trying to win the affections of his babysitter Jessica (Analeigh Tipton), who in turn has a crush on Cal—though all of these threads could easily be a determent to the main plot, but directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa do a great job of keeping everything together. Given the multi-generational ensemble and interlocking stories, Crazy, Stupid, Love. shares some similarities with Love Actually.
As one might expect, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone and Marisa Tomei all turn in fine performances. Of real note here are the younger actors. As Cal and Emily’s babysitter Analeigh Tipton plays the perfect awkward teen, faced with emotions she doesn’t know how to deal with. Robbie, played with surprising skill by Jonah Bobo, is a dreamer more mature than his years. If you’re looking for a smart, funny romantic comedy, Crazy, Stupid, Love. will likely fit the bill.
(One side note, this movie may have set a record for becoming dated, with one scene set in front of the now-defunct Borders books, while another scene includes a joke about Steve Jobs.)
The 2.40:1 1080 transfer is wonderfully vibrant, balancing well-defined flesh tones with a nice palette of bright, pleasing tones. The color accuracy is near perfect, aided by deft handling of the contrast. Black levels are inky and consistent from start to finish, and detail quality is crisp throughout. Grain is expertly handled, giving the proceedings a filmic glow. Warner Bros. has provided a very solid transfer here.
The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio sound mix presented here is quite good. While some music cues are a tad too loud, this track serves the film well. Dialogue is audible and clear—though there are a few bar scenes where the music interferes a bit—and atmospherics are placed nicely in the surrounds, giving the film a real sense of fullness. Fidelity is strong; both high-and low-ends are replicated accurately and clearly.
French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mixes are included, as are English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles.
The special features here are fairly meager
- Deleted Scenes (HD, 12 minutes): Oddly enough, the majority of these laugh-out-loud deleted scenes would’ve served the film well. Except one: a U-Haul accident that would have completely undermined the sobering dramatic moment that preceded it.
- The Player Meets His Match (HD, 6 minutes): Rather standard EPK fluff.
- Steve and Ryan Walk Into a Bar (HD, 7 minutes): A fun but frivolous fluff piece with Carell and Gosling.
- Standard DVD of the Film
- UV digital copy
