Sure, I had doubts that
Crazy, Stupid, Love would be anything but predictable, but there was something to it - something more than your average Hollywood flick. This was a surprisingly brilliant movie and a breath of fresh air that's above the heap of lifeless and senseless romantic comedies.
One thing that separated this film
from it's contemporaries was the clever and witty scriptwriting. I thought it was beautifully written, never stiff and everything felt authentic with a couple of appropriately sarcastic and funny dialogue exchanges among all the characters.
The script also managed to furnish scenes where without saying anything important, the characters were able to put so much across. It then achieved a remarkable feat of making me actually care about the characters - which is usually rare!
But of course, that wouldn't be possible if not for the incredibly assembled cast. Yes, the casting really did add so much more appeal to this film. It was in their performances where the success of this romantic comedy resided.
Steve Carell probably gave one of his best performances to date as he was able to transition swiftly his emotions effortlessly. He projected a "humanity" that didn't need to be embellished. Julianne Moore was terrific and pretty sublime in this movie. She was able to easily balance the humor with drama.
Emma Stone also gave a solid performance. She wasn't given nearly as much to do as the others, but she held her own on screen. Ryan Gosling, on the other hand, was impressive as he managed to play his role that's against type. He didn't come off as a douche bag and I actually cared about his character. He even commanded every scene he was on. He was sexy, confident and bound to be adored by females everywhere.
For the most part, the chemistry between couples were wondrously compelling to watch. There were some beautiful, subtle moments of tenderness as well as some heart-rending moments of disconnectedness - especially between Carell and Moore - that never came across as heavy-handed.
Oh, and I have to say that the film was able to maintain a classy type of humor throughout the film. No raunchy comedy. No lowbrow or slapstick jokes. Plus, I loved the "twist" and I seriously didn't see that one coming! Heck, are twists even allowed in these types of movies? Haha.
One minor - yes, minor! - gripe about the film was the lack of time given to the relationship of Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. While it didn't exactly take away anything from it's greatness, a more fleshed out relationship between the two would've been better.
Overall,
Crazy, Stupid, Love was a hilarious and deftly thoughtful movie about love. Astonishing performances and sublime writing. It was indeed a thoroughly clever and impressive film that shouldn't be missed. And just like love, it was bittersweet.
RATING: 9/10
