Lindsay: Crazy Stupid Love unravels the story of multiple individuals dealing with the powerful and ridiculous effects of ‘love.’ In the film, love takes on many forms: a crush, infatuation, marriage and casual hookups. The characters in the film are often quick to judge others character’s relationships, much like we do in our own lives, but the film aims to show the audience how unfair those labels can be.
CSL is one of the best romantic comedies I have seen in a while, and actually might be one of my favorite films of the year so far. It’s not a perfect movie. It has trouble finding it’s footing in the first half, and under develops some promising aspects of its story. The slow ground in the first 3rd of the movie is made manageable by the promising characters introduced through Jacob (Gosling), Cal (Carrell) and Hannah (Stone). Under utilizing the warm chemistry and mysterious dynamic between Jacob & Hannah’s relationship is the film’s biggest crime.
It’s no surprise that the cast is charming. Ryan Gosling especially shines (and so do abs…yeah, I went there) and is often more comedic in most scenes he shares with Carrell. And Carrell himself is respectable, really progressing from earlier, somewhat similar roles. Often times it’s easy to be disappointed by a film when you go into it with high expectations. I may have initially thought there would be a more dramatic layer added to the film, but I ultimately really enjoyed the final product. It’s a sweet, surprising and well-acted summer treat, seriously perfect for a movie date night. Hopefully viewers will adore Crazy, Stupid, Love as much as I did.
61-89% Really enjoyable movie. It may not be perfect in all aspects but it was worth the watch.