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Crazy, stupid, love. (2011) - Ficarra & Requa
Love Stinks
The Set-up? At their weekly restaurant date Cal (Steve Carell) asks his wife of 25 years, Emiliy (Julianne Moore) what she feels like having. She goes off menu ... way off.
I assumed this was going to be a flat-out romance between a couple or two, but it turned out to be a fine ensemble affair, with the heavy lifting evenly distributed amongst all the actors. The bit players are well cast, and they get a chance to develop their own story.
And, for once, there was an absence of gross-out and raunchy humor that has sadly become to be the norm for all comedies lately. But this is not to say there aren't some outlandish moments in the film. The characters are hesitant and gawky only because they lead so openly with their hearts.
There's good dialogue with snappy one liners. For instance, Cal is in his new home away from home ... the singles bar. Getting slowly hammered, unaware the entire club has overheard his little expository riff on; "She hath made a cuckold out of me!" There's also some nice details: The midnight rambler Jacob (Ryan Gosling) was probably motivated to help Cal with a make-over out of sheer boredom.
Plus there's another reason to watch foreign films. You can rip them off and no one is the wiser. Jacob's big move is borrowed from a set piece from the French film "L'Arnacoeur" from last year. The film is just slightly self-conscious about the movie making process. Emma Stone makes sly jibes at the movie's rating. And after, a particularly brutal evening with the women in his life, Cal is left standing alone in the parking lot and it begins to rain. He looks up: "Are you kidding me?"
There's a wonderfully hopeful and sweet ending---but if you care to reflect upon the final moments of the film afterwards, you can discover the bitter sweet after-taste is clearly there. "Crazy stupid love" is a cut above the normal rom com fare simply because some thought and craftsmanship was allowed to remain.
Product placement: AMC theatres. Macy's. Brookstone pillows. And Ryan Gosling as a virile sex god.
Love Stinks
The Set-up? At their weekly restaurant date Cal (Steve Carell) asks his wife of 25 years, Emiliy (Julianne Moore) what she feels like having. She goes off menu ... way off.
I assumed this was going to be a flat-out romance between a couple or two, but it turned out to be a fine ensemble affair, with the heavy lifting evenly distributed amongst all the actors. The bit players are well cast, and they get a chance to develop their own story.
And, for once, there was an absence of gross-out and raunchy humor that has sadly become to be the norm for all comedies lately. But this is not to say there aren't some outlandish moments in the film. The characters are hesitant and gawky only because they lead so openly with their hearts.
There's good dialogue with snappy one liners. For instance, Cal is in his new home away from home ... the singles bar. Getting slowly hammered, unaware the entire club has overheard his little expository riff on; "She hath made a cuckold out of me!" There's also some nice details: The midnight rambler Jacob (Ryan Gosling) was probably motivated to help Cal with a make-over out of sheer boredom.
Plus there's another reason to watch foreign films. You can rip them off and no one is the wiser. Jacob's big move is borrowed from a set piece from the French film "L'Arnacoeur" from last year. The film is just slightly self-conscious about the movie making process. Emma Stone makes sly jibes at the movie's rating. And after, a particularly brutal evening with the women in his life, Cal is left standing alone in the parking lot and it begins to rain. He looks up: "Are you kidding me?"
There's a wonderfully hopeful and sweet ending---but if you care to reflect upon the final moments of the film afterwards, you can discover the bitter sweet after-taste is clearly there. "Crazy stupid love" is a cut above the normal rom com fare simply because some thought and craftsmanship was allowed to remain.
Product placement: AMC theatres. Macy's. Brookstone pillows. And Ryan Gosling as a virile sex god.