Crazy, Stupid, Love is a 2011 American romantic comedy film directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, written by Dan Fogelman, and starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, and Kevin Bacon. It follows a recently separated man who seeks to rediscover his manhood and is taught how to pick up women at bars.
Plot[]
Cal Weaver is a middle-aged man, whose wife, Emily asks for a divorce after she reveals an affair, which she had with co-worker David Lindhagen. After moving into his own apartment, Cal begins frequenting an upscale bar, talking loudly about his divorce, until he attracts the attention of a young man named Jacob Palmer. Jacob, a womanizer, who beds different women each night, was recently rejected by a woman named Hannah. Jacob takes pity on Cal and offers to teach him how to pick up women. After a few awkward attempts to talk to women, Cal seduces Kate at the bar.
This experience gives Cal the confidence to approach other women, and Cal begins to successfully emulate Jacob's example. Eventually, Cal and Emily will reunite at their 13-year-old son Robbie's parent-teacher conference, where Emily is impressed by Cal's newfound confidence and fitted clothes. Their reunion goes well until Robbie's teacher is revealed as Kate, who shares with Emily that she and Cal have had sex.
Cal inadvertently confesses to having sex with nine women since their separation and Emily leaves in disgust. Meanwhile, when Hannah, a recent law school graduate, is offended by her boyfriend, she returns to the bar where she originally rejected Jacob's advances and kisses Jacob passionately.
Cal and Emily's son, Robbie, makes numerous grand gestures to try to win the heart of Jessica Riley, his 17-year-old babysitter, who has a crush on Cal. At the advice of a classmate, Riley takes nude photos of herself, intending to send them to Cal. Emily calls Cal under the guise of needing help with the house's pilot light, but Cal sees through the ruse. Realizing that she called just because she missed him, Cal decides to win her back.
Jacob returns Cal's calls and asks for advice about being in a real relationship and meeting his girlfriend's parents. Jessica's mother discovers the naked photos and Jessica's father, Bernie rushes to the Weaver residence to confront him about the photos, with Jessica in pursuit. Cal and his kids will create a makeshift mini golf set in their backyard to remind Emily of their first date.
During the gathering, Jacob and Hannah can show up at the house, and Hannah is revealed to be Cal and Emily's first daughter born to them right out of high school. Cal is appalled that Jacob is dating his daughter, and forbids her from seeing him. Bernie shows up and attacks Cal. Jessica arrives and tells her father that Cal knew nothing of the pictures.
David arrives on the scene to return Emily's sweater from a previous date. When Jacob identifies him, he punches David in the face for the pain, which he caused Cal. Cal, Jacob, David, and Bernie shall then get into a scuffle which is soon broken up by the police. Cal starts spending time at the bar again and receives a visit from Jacob, who confesses that he is in love and has begun to re-evaluate his life as a result.
Cal replies that he is happy that Jacob is a changed man but does not approve of Jacob and Hannah's relationship, having seen Jacob's former lifestyle. Jacob resigns without harboring any ill feelings; rather, he expresses his respect for Cal and praises him for being a great father.
At Robbie's eighth grade graduation, Robbie is the salutatorian and gives a pessimistic speech about how he no longer believes in true love and soulmates. Cal stops him and instead begins to recount his courtship with Emily to the audience, saying that, while he does not know if things will work out, he will never give up on Emily. With renewed faith, Robbie reaffirms his love for Jessica, to the audience's applause.
After the ceremony, Cal gives Jacob and Hannah his blessing. Jessica gives Robbie an envelope containing the nude photos of herself that were originally intended for Cal to "get him through high school." Cal and Emily have a laugh talking about the events that have transpired the past year, and watching them from afar, Robbie smiles optimistically.
Cast[]
- Steve Carell as Cal Weaver
- Ryan Gosling as Jacob Palmer
- Julianne Moore as Emily Weaver
- Emma Stone as Hannah Weaver
- Marisa Tomei as Kate Tafferty
- Kevin Bacon as David Lindhagen
- John Carroll Lynch as Bernie Riley
- Josh Groban as Richard
- Lio Tipton (credited as Analeigh Tipton) as Jessica Riley
- Jonah Bobo as Robbie Weaver
- Joey King as Molly Weaver
- Beth Littleford as Claire Riley
- Julianna Guill as Madison
- Liza Lapira as Liz
- Crystal Reed as Amy Johnson
- Dan Butler as Cal's boss
Production[]
The film was developed under the working title Untitled Marital Crisis Comedy.
Dan Fogelman started writing the screenplay in 2009 about love among a group of people. It is based on his own experiences and was written with Steve Carell in mind. After Fogelman sent it to his manager, within a week Carell read it and came aboard the project. In December 2009, Warner Bros. secured the rights of the then-untitled project for $2.5 million. In January 2010, the film was in pre-production. On March 16, 2010, Emma Stone was in negotiations to star in the film. On April 7, 2010, Analeigh Tipton was in final talks to appear in the film. On April 12, Kevin Bacon also joined the cast. It is the first project produced by Carell's Carousel Productions.
Principal photography took place in and around Los Angeles, California. Filming started on April 16, 2010 and lasted for fifty three days. Locations included Westfield Century City mall, Ventura Boulevard, Hollywood Hills where Jacob's house is located, Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Portola Middle School in Tarzana and Grant High School in Van Nuys, which stood for Robbie and Jessica's campuses, El Torito Grill at the Sherman Oaks Galleria and Equinox Fitness in Woodland Hills, which became the sports club featured in the film. Before editing, the original cut was three hours long.
Reception[]
Box office[]
Crazy, Stupid, Love grossed $84.2 million in the United States and Canada and $58.5 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $142.7 million, against its production of $50 million.
The film opened at #5 at the North American box office on its opening weekend with $19.1 million.
Critical response[]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 79% based on 235 reviews and an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "It never lives up to the first part of its title, but Crazy, Stupid, Love's unabashed sweetness – and its terrifically talented cast – more than make up for its flaws." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 68 out of 100 based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
External Links[]
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