Crazy, Stupid, Love.

At one point, Crazy, Stupid, Love. was my favorite movie. And you'll notice, this movie also has Steve Carell in the starring role. This is the only romantic comedy I've ever really loved, and it's probably the only romantic comedy I'll ever really love. This movie is so good because it doesn't rely on stupid tropes to fuel the plot. This movie has so much going on it in and it's all concentrated in the plot. The music, the wardrobe, the shot composition, all fairly unimpressive; They're fine, but unimpressive. This movie fully relies on plot and acting and it's amazing. It's what every romantic comedy wants to be-- clever and unassuming-- but it's actually that. It's actually funny, there's actually something to be learned, the acting is great, it deals with a real life situation not some stupid fairy tale. I love this movie and if you don't like it I likely don't like you.

The main pull to this movie is the plot. Julianne Moore cheats on Steve Carell with Kevin Bacon and wants a divorce. And then everything escalates from there. There is a separate story about Ryan Gosling, who is a ladies man and hangs out in bars and picks up women, and he tries to pick up Emma Stone. And then everything escalates from there. There's some things that happen with Moore and Carell's kids, which is my least favorite story line, mostly because it is pretty problematic. The best part of all the different story-lines is that they all connect somehow. There is one of the best plot twists and culminating action sequences in a comedy that I find absolutely brilliant. I don't think I've ever seen a climax of a movie as goofy-ily chaotic as this movie has.
Some obvious issues with this movie is that the son, Robbie, is obsessed with the babysitter and stalks her, basically. It is added in as comedic relief in between the turmoil of his parents separation, but it definitely advocates an unhealthy obsession with this woman. The worst part of it all is that she goes from finding it creepy and annoying, to finding it cute and endearing.
The acting is so good in this movie. The whole cast, even the non-comedy people like Julianne Moore and Kevin Bacon and Ryan Gosling were really funny in this movie. I think the key to this movies success is that all of the actors were so able to go from funny and sarcastic to actually being serious and upset and having real feelings. There's several scenes that are funny in essence but as they come to an end the tone isn't joking around anymore. The versatility and ability of the cast to so easily go from these slapstick situations to actually having real people feelings is shown throughout the movie.
I think this movie explores real issues that come up in real marriages, with the struggle of kids and an early marriage and how relationships turn boring if you stop working on them. I think a lot of the situation is embellished, obviously I don't think in reality someone like Ryan Gosling's character would just out of the blue offer to help Steve Carell's character. I do think however, the evolution of Carell's character is realistic. Man gets dumped by lifelong love so he cleans up his act and seduces a ton a women-- yes that seems plausible to me. This movie also explores a mid-life crisis from a females point of view, and while Julianne Moore isn't the main character, we see a trope that is unconventionally put on a woman. Ultimately though, this movie is a goofy and fun take on a kind of shitty situation.

There isn't much to dig into this movie about mostly because it is what it is. It's a genuinely wholesome, realistic (but embellished), funny movie. If you like Rom-Com's, and you don't like Crazy, Stupid, Love. I'm sorry buy you're wrong and you just enjoy shitty movies. There are some issues with this movie, but no more than any other Rom-Com and it is much better. It has actual substance and it overall preaches a good message; what more do you want from your family Rom-Com?