Crazy Stupid Love

This may be a delayed blog entry, however, the quality of the film deserves a review from my site. I have seen Crazy Stupid Love, almost 3 weeks ago and I made an entry on my site but failed to be publish. To my astonishment, the whole review was not even saved in my drafts, and i really hate rewriting everything I wrote since most of the thought I write came in spontaneously. Anyway, here it is:

Feet. The movie's intro sums up the whole relationship of Cal (Steve Carell) and Emily (Julliane Moore) through the language of their feet, and yes they are in chaos as compared to those who reside on the other tables. It can be seen on how close their feet are. It is in that night that Emily blurts out that she wants a divorce and that she slept with one of her co-workers (Kevin Bacon). On the other hand, Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling) is a certified lady's man. He charms everyone with his smooth talks and his dazzling smile. And while he was in his debonair exploits, he spots Cal who is depressed in a bar, talking to himself. In that moment, Jacob decided to help Cal and turn him into a man he lost along his relationship with Emily.

The movie is beautiful in its simplicity. What is striking in this movie is how realistic are the reactions of its characters dealing with loss of a relationship and how they are trying to cope with it. While Jacob's character presents the fantasy world in which men indulge themselves to have, Cal, on the other hand, presents a reality that long-term relationship usually have.

There are some interesting moments in the film that each viewer that had a failed relationship can relate to. One of which is during the Parent-teacher meeting where Cal and Emily has to see each other and they feel the awkwardness of the situation making them resort to small talks. What impressed me most is how this scene is delivered with passion - that there is no need for exaggeration just to send the message of awkwardness, that a simple avoidance of eye-contact and small talks can tell you that they want to talk but they hesitate. Another powerful scene is when Emily called Cal on the phone pretending that she needed help from him when in fact she only wants to hear his voice not knowing that Cal was just outside the house watching her on her window.

Jacob's character provided realism when he met Hannah (Emma Stone). He was the fantasy of men. He is the perfection that guys would always wanted to have - the sophistication, etc. Jacob shines as a teacher and mentor of Cal. He shines even brighter when he developed his relationship Hannah.

The humor in the film was superbly done. No slapstick humor from Carell but rather the intelligent ones.Crazy Stupid Love may have a lot plots to develop but has never wandered off to its principal core which is love against trials. This is one Romantic-Comedy not to be missed. If you have a chance to watch it in your local cinemas, then do so, if not just wait for the release of the DVD.

GRADE: A-