Crazy Stupid Love

Rating : 8/10
Release Date : 29th July, 2011 (USA)
Time : 118 minutes
Director & Co-writer : Glen Ficarra, John Requa; Writer : Dan Fogelman; Music : Christophe Beck, Nick Urata
Starring : Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon, Analeigh Lipton, Jonah Bobo, Liza Lapira, Joey King, John Carroll Lynch, Josh Groban

“The war between the sexes is over. We won the second women started doing pole dancing for exercise”



What is amazing about this film are the surprises you get at every turn, every corner. Just when you think its getting predictable, you anticipate a certain move, ‘BAM’, it’ll surprise you. And in a very natural, realistic way, without seeming to be trying to do so, without it ever getting over the top.

“Demi Moore is 15 years older than Ashton Kutcher. They seem happy together.”


Right from Ryan Goslings first pick up attempt, the whole ‘it could’ve been cancer’ and subsequent applause for Steve in his office, the slaps & how surprisingly it does get evened out later, the jumping out of a car while its moving, the babysitter’s crush, the cologne gift, the entering of the room without knocking (by the babysitter) and what she witnesses, the ‘valium’ boyfriend, the googling of ‘moms crying in bed’, the raising of the chair by Robbie for the conversation in office, the unexpected meeting with the 8th grade teacher by the parents, the conversation with the hairdresser, the protectiveness of fathers towards their daughters & the need for them to be role models for their sons. The ending is possibly one of the best I’ve seen in recent times, totally unexpected like the rest of the film.

“I don't know whether to help you or euthanize you”

Steve Carell and Julianne Moore are married for 25 years. Have lovely kids. And now seem to have a crisis in their relationship. Steve meets someone at a bar (Ryan Gosling) who attempts to change his personality. The kids have issues of their own. Julianne Moore cant make up her mind. And it all comes beautifully together at the end.

“You're life is so PG-13”



Both situationally and dialogue-wise, this is a great script. To be able to constantly spring a surprise through the film, to do it without losing the thread of the story & different subplots or making the characters seem non-manipulated is impressive. The background music is fantastic, accentuating every mood and emotion effortlessly. The acting is uniformly brilliant, right from Marisa’s cameo, Jonah’s anguished thirteen year old, Liza Lapira as the best friend who knows whats wrong, Analeigh as the babysitter trapped between crushes, John as the henpecked husband & possessive father and the leads – each one of them just pefect. And the jokes aren’t bad too…

“The bags under your eyes looks like Hugh Hefner's ball sack”




As pointed out by my friend who saw it with me, the movie achieves a fantastic impact without having to try too hard in terms of fancy camera work, weird camera angles or too many locations (3 homes, 1 school and 1 bar is pretty much all we see).

“I'm going to help you rediscover your manhood. Do you have any idea where you could have lost it?”


There is a lesson in this film for our industry. On how to be original without fear. I don’t think we’ve got the talent or the balls to be able to do something similar right now