Andrew (24)
Dave Enkosky (15)
Wayne (13)
Pete (12)
Mike (11)
Sir Phobos (11)
Andy (9)
justin (9)
Lauren (8)
Fitz (7)
Boy meets girl. Boy gets girl. Boy (and girl) become complacent. Girl cheats on boy with Six Degree-ing bastard Kevin Bacon (who has done wonders to his already-supreme stature is his titular game by merely appearing in this film and X-Men Origins earlier this year…but I digress.)
The life-lessons learned in Crazy, Stupid, Love. are neither deep nor insightful. Upon losing the love of his life, his “soul mate,” a phrase uttered no less than 10 times throughout the course of the film, Cal (Steve Carrell) becomes the elder padawan learner to Jacob, a metrosexual lothario winkingly played by Ryan Gosling. Jacob goes on to teach Cal the ways of The Player – secrets passed down to him from Hitch and the Wedding Crashers guys and even to “Double Down” Trent of Swingers fame. Clean yourself up, play the part, act confident, and above all, treat your potential conquests like the pieces of meat that they were intended to be.
But alas, as is the case with every such shallow film of this nature, Our Hero must learn the Error of his ways, to not only respect all women, but his Soul Mate. To find, as Curly (City Slickers, not Three Stooges) might say, that “one thing” that represents the secret of life to them, and to pursue it with all their heart and never relent. To live and love passionately and yada yada yada.
Short story long: there’s not a lot of new ground being covered here. Despite the film’s apparent intent on appearing to be a Quality Rom-Com-Dram, the insight just isn’t there – a Hallmark card would have done the job in a fraction of the time.
This leaves us with the intangibles, and lucky for us – while they can be hit-and-miss (poor editing, with certain characters disappearing for long stretches) – it succeeds on that front, most noticeably evidenced by the excellent cast. Steve Carrell is freed from playing a cartoon, instead showing the heart of his 40 Year Old Virgin character in a more mature situation. As is sadly often the case, the leading ladies are given more lip service than screen time, as Julianne Moore and Emma Stone are pushed to the background in favor of the gents (though Marisa Tomei steals laughs at nearly every opportunity). However, it’s hard to complain too much, as some of their time is granted to Gosling, who is, frankly, a much more interesting character than Carrell’s to begin with. His journey may be as predictably boring, but he certainly is not. Also helping matters are two sizable detours to the film that you may not see coming.
Above all, go for the winning pop culture references. While you may tire of the emotional and romantic obstacle course set in front of the characters – we all know this plane lands safely, don’t we? – the writing is sharp enough in spots to more than carry you from one scene to the next. From The Karate Kid to Dirty Dancing, film fans of the 80s will be delighted at the cheeky connections from this film to some of that era’s most beloved. Those with shorter memories may yet enjoy the coincidental pairing of another Scarlet Letter tie-in to an Emma Stone film (thankfully, she’s not directly involved).
And now, to tie all of that together with my own (terrible) reference: You may not have the time of your life, and it might not be the best around, but history will most certainly repeat itself.
I really loved this one. Definitely the funniest movie so far this year.
Twitter: manilovefilms
August 3, 2011 12:38 pm
God, that would be a tough question for me. I’m struggling to think of ANY comedies that I loved. Hangover 2 sucked, Bridesmaids had its moments but was no riot, and I’d probably say the same for this one.
I need to see Horrible Bosses…and Attack the Block…and maybe The Guard.
Good review,
As I said before, this isn’t really the kind of film I’d usually watch, but the cast got me interested. I doubt I’ll ever watch it though, but just continue to be mildly interested without ever bothering with it.
That happens to me a lot…
Twitter: manilovefilms
August 3, 2011 12:39 pm
Thanks, Jack.
Haha, well, you won’t be missing out on too much. I probably enjoyed it a tad more than my three-heart rating would indicate, but it’s just not that well-made of a film and is too familiar and predictable. By-the-numbers, you could say, though it’s certainly enjoyable and you could do a hell of a lot worse.
Twitter: waywardjam
August 4, 2011 7:32 am
Saw this last night and got a real kick out of it. To me, it was about the guys’ attitudes towards relationships more so than a well-balanced take on them hence why Moore, Stone and Tipton are merely side notes. If they’d dropped the whole Bacon bit (ha!) it would definitely played that way. Should have been more balanced though; I wanted more Julianne.
btw, I see what you meant about Stone seeming a young choice for her character.
Horrible Bosses and The Change-Up will hopefully lift your comedy spirits. Change-up rotates b/w bathroom, cute-kiddie, and sex-craved humor so if one of those completely turns you off, you may find HB the superior.
Twitter: manilovefilms
August 4, 2011 8:51 am
True, but it didn’t have to be so much about the guys, nor should it have been. They painted Moore and Stone as equal shares in the film at the beginning (or at least Stone, with her storyline eventually converging with Carrell’s), but that seemed to quickly vanish. And the kid/babysitter stuff felt mostly like filler, even if it had some meaning or served as a connector to get to the finale.
No real interest in The Change-Up, sorry. That shit looks too stupid to be good. Such a shame..
There was a funny bit with Jason Bateman going on The Daily Show, and even he was like “This movie is shit.”
Twitter: waywardjam
August 8, 2011 1:16 pm
Man, so many folks are down on The Change-Up, even the stars. We enjoyed it. It’s formulaic and won’t hold up over time, but I went in to be amused and came out (mostly) satisfied.
Either I’m being too generous with C-U and CSL, or I just really needed to laugh these past few weeks.
Twitter: manilovefilms
August 8, 2011 3:05 pm
Well, I can’t fault you too much for that. If you set the expectation bar low enough, I suppose you can walk out of The Change-Up alright. For me, I just don’t want to promote it by giving it money. I’m sure I’ll watch it on cable and be just fine with it, but it appears lazy and filled with poopy jokes. Not my ideal kind of humor.
Great review, Dylan. Very true. Gosling surprised the hell out of me how much I liked his character and was on his side when he was hoping for acceptance from Carrell. Exactamundo on Marisa Tomei – that woman stole every scene she was in. Carrell was great, but I think I was more impressed with his work in DAN IN REAL LIFE. And Emma…I didn’t realize any acting, I was too sucked in by prettinness…
I laughed when the whole SCARLET LETTER thing was brought into the story. Pretty sure I was thinking, “aGAIN?” And my mom hit me on the arm with excitement during the DIRTY DANCING scene. Not the best dramaedy of the year, but definitely on my top ten list (thus far).
(and I need to see ATTACK THE BLOCK, too. Damn limited screen releases!)
Twitter: manilovefilms
August 8, 2011 3:07 pm
Yeah…stupid Attack the Block ain’t even in Phoenix yet. Boo!
So…any discomfort watching this with your mom?
Twitter: DantheMan610
August 11, 2011 12:05 am
Good Review! Overall, the film is too conventional for my liking. It needed to be sharper, wittier, and funnier. But for average summer fare, it’s okay. It’s far from perfect and runs on the long side, but rom-com and chick flick lovers will likely be satisfied. Check out my review when you can please!