A few Sunday's at work, plus a trip to California = me being behind on movies. The wife and I started our catch up phase by checking out Crazy, Stupid, Love. yesterday.

This movie may have one of the most appropriate titles of all time, there were parts that I thought were crazy, stupid, and parts I loved. I am probably going to delve a little deeper into the plot than I normally would in a review so if you haven't checked this movie out yet you may just want to scroll down for the recap. If you have seen it please let me know what you thought in the comments.

This movie focuses on the love life of Cal, a man in his mid-40's who finds out that his wife of 20+ years has recently cheated on him with a man with whom she works. With this news coming completely out of the blue it sends Cal's life into a spiral that he never could have envisioned. Through in a new love mentor, and two younger kids and Cal's life is now completely backwards.

The Crazy:
Throughout the entire movie we see Cal become more of a ladies man thanks to the help of Jacob, a late-20's hipster who seems to take ladies home from the bar at the drop of a hat. After years of this practice Jacob brings home a young lady who he finds out that he has feelings for that extend past the bedroom door. The way this relationship comes together, and how it all is tied into the main story line of Cal's life was a little crazy for my liking.

The Stupid:
Say what you will about any potential comedy it added to the script but the storyline of a 17-year old taking naked photos of herself and trying to give them to a 40+ year old, and then a 13 year old was just plain stupid. There are so many things wrong with that storyline, and the resulting brew ha ha that happens in Cal's backyard were the low lights of my 2 hours.

The Love:
I can't say enough about how great Steve Carell was in this movie. From his one-liners at the bar to his heartfelt speech's while trying to woo back his soul mate were exactly what you hope for when you see his name in the opening titles. I truly feel like he could make a cactus look great acting across from it. He basically makes that point for me by getting a stomachable performance from Ryan Gosling.And no, that jab had nothing to do with my lovely wife calling Gosling her new boyfriend as we left the theater. At least not that I will state publicly.

If you are wondering on whether or not to check this movie out it really comes down to one question, are you a fan of Steve Carell? If so, go check it out, if not stay at home and watch re-runs of The Office.


Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Directed by: Glenn Ficarra, and John Requa
Written by: Dan Fogelman
Starring: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Julianne Moore
My Rating: 2.75 out of 5
Would Gene Pick it?: Yes, but only to see Steve Carell