Review of Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011) by Scott M — 24 May 2017

Balancing drama and comedy is tough, often movies will lean heavily towards one or the other. Crazy, Stupid, Love balances them tremendously. It has some great dramatic scenes and also some laugh-out-loud comedy. Steve Carell is the glue that holds the whole thing together. His performance is exceptional, and covers a whole range of emotions. Of course if you look at the cast list there's a whole bunch of other A-list stars doing some great work as well.

There was a lot that I absolutely loved in this movie. It has so much heart that I just smiled like a fool through a number of scenes, particularly the end. The comedy is an excellent mix of subtle humor from odd situations, all the way to big slapstick moments. It takes a good comedy to get me laughing when I'm sitting alone watching a film, and most modern comedies don't come close, but this one worked. All this and it was emotionally resonant as well. I'll admit I had a few tears.

There's one little thing that kind of bugged me, and it's typical in romantic comedies...the characters make some stupid decisions. I know it happens in real life, and is essential to keep the plot moving forward, but I hate to see these lovable characters failing. I end up wanting to yell at the screen and tell them to stop being dumb. But I need to watch Crazy, Stupid, Love again a few times because it feels like the kind of movie that I will rate even higher when I have gotten used to this one issue.