Love and All That Nonsense

Crazy Stupid Love will probably get lumped into the much maligned genre of romantic-comedy. But actually it is a comedy about romance. That sounds like a nonsense statement but it isn't. Not only does Crazy Stupid Love take romance seriously in a way that movies nowadays rarely do but it also finds comedy in romantic situations both glorious and heartbreaking. The results are refreshing and Crazy Stupid Love can be added to lists of the best romantic-comedies ever.

The film stars Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone and features Kevin Bacon, Analeigh Tipton (who placed 3rd on America's Next Top Model), young actor Jonah Bobo and the amazing Marisa Tomei in supporting roles. The movie was written by Dan Fogleman (best known for writing Tangled and Cars) and directed by the duo of Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (the little seen I Love You, Philip Morris).

Cal (Carell) and Emily (Moore) are a couple whose marriage hits a dead end after Emily admits to sleeping with David (Bacon). Newly divorced, Cal finds himself back in the singles' game and not knowing any of the rules. That's when he meets suave playboy Jacob (Gosling), who takes him under his wing Hitch-style. Cal has a small fling with foxy teacher Kate (Tomei) but soon realizes that the love of his life is Emily. Jacob, on the other hand, tries his game on Hannah (Stone) but she shakes his confidence by rejecting him and now he can't get her out of his head. While all of this happening, Cal and Emily's wise-beyond-his-years son Robbie (Bobo) has a full-blown crush on his older babysitter Jessica (Tipton). But Jessica has a crush of her own...Cal.

This ensemble comedy is one part comedy of remarriage, one part reformed playboy comedy and one part awkward teenage romance. In lesser hands, all these characters and subplots would seem superfluous and confusing. But the movie manages to balance everything out, giving each plot the attention it deserves. There is also a balance of despair and farce, which can be a pretty tricky thing to pull off; you don't want to undermine the sentiment with too many jokes nor do you want to halt the comic momentum with mopey drama. Crazy Stupid Love manages to shift its tone with a fabulous ease.

For example, my favorite scene in the movie is the parent-teacher conference sequence. It starts with Cal and Emily sitting on opposite sides of a door, close to each other physically but miles apart emotionally. Moore and Carell play this scene so realistically and effortlessly that if someone had told me they were married in real life, I might actually believe them. This moment is quite heartfelt with a few jokes. Then a surprise comes and the scene shifts to high farce but even that's loaded with an undercurrent of tragedy. And then the scene shifts again as Cal and Emily finally have the confrontation they needed to have. I mean it is absolutely beautiful this scene. I don't even want to think about what it would have been like with a less talented set of actors (my hatred of spoilers will not let me reveal the name of the sequence's most surprising performer) and with a creative team less confident of their material.

And that's the engine that drives this movie to its splendid destination: confidence. In a movie where the phrase "soul mate" is said about 15 times (most of which spoken by a teenage boy), the film had to be sure of itself to sell it sans melodrama.

Crazy Stupid Love is glorious and grand, epic and emotional. It's full of intimate confessions and monumental declarations of love. The movie is dripping with "if only the real world were like this!" There isn't a mean-spirited bone in its body. Even David, Emily's seducer, isn't some emasculating monster but a man genuinely in love with a married woman. The romance between Robbie and Jessica isn't some "hot for babysitter" Playboy letter but a tender yet ultimately ill-fated love story.

Emma Stone, one of Hollywood's top young talents, is absolutely terrific as Hannah. She not only gives us the sweet, sarcastic comic performance we all love but she adds an incredible depth to her persona. Her scenes with Ryan Gosling sparkle with a refreshing romantic chemistry. Of course, their one big scene is written creatively and shot very beautifully.

Ryan Gosling, another rising star, is also quite exceptional. He is charming and suave, but there's an undeniable sadness and emptiness. Pairing him with Steve Carell was a wacky idea and it pays off immensely. Their comic chemistry is quite palpable and the reverse mentorship is interesting to watch.

I already discussed the Carell-Moore acting duo but I'll just reiterate that they are fantastic together. Julianne Moore is one of my favorite actresses and her work is remarkable here also. Steve Carell, in his first post-Michael Scott role, proves to be just as relatable and hilarious also.

Marisa Tomei is ferocious in her small role. Not only does she look as beautiful as ever, but her comic performance is brilliantly unhinged. Kevin Bacon is Kevin Bacon, charming even when he shouldn't be.

Jonah Bobo and Analeigh Tipton are the youngsters in the cast and they are a revelation. Bobo is serenely romantic and unusually wise. Tipton nails the awkward confusion of a misplaced crush. Her character is surprisingly well-written. I hope they both get good work after this.

Crazy Stupid Love is a rare romantic-comedy that has a brain and uses it. It embraces its romance and engages in some unexpected humor. When the credits roll, I wanted the movie to keep on going. I enjoyed these characters and wished I lived in their universe. This is the kind of romantic-comedy that should be made more often. It's certainly the kind of script I'd love to write. But only if I can get the talented trio of Moore, Stone and Tomei to star in it.

Crazy Stupid Love: A

Tow Mater: Average Intelligence

After the mammoth success of Toy Story 3, Pixar released Cars 2. I found this to be both baffling and unsurprising. Baffling because its predecessor Cars had the worst reviews in Pixar history (74% while the others are in the upper 90s). Also, the majority of the public place Cars in the bottom when they rank the Pixar movies. Unsurprising because Cars-related merchandise is very, very profitable for Disney. So, yeah, it kind of makes sense that they would want a repeat of those impressive toy sales. After all, would any kid want a stuffed toy rat for his/her birthday?

One of the great things about Pixar is that it appeals to all demographics. Adults and children both enjoy its special brand of humor. Its stories were grand fables with profound philosophies that are perfectly timeless.

Cars 2, however, is directly aimed at children with its simple-minded humor and bland Disney Channel Original Movie moral. I think it's fine for movies to appeal to children but I also think those movies don't have a long shelf life--do you think anyone is going to be watching Marmaduke or Alvin and the Chipmunks in 5 or 10 years? Probably not.

The plot of Cars 2 involves a whole lot of nonsense: international races, espionage, oil companies. It all sounds like a rejected James Bond outline with heavy inspiration from Hitchcock's "wrong man" films (especially North by Northwest--just replace Cary Grant with a truck voiced by Larry the Cable Guy). Even the musical score is Hitchcock-inspired though it's oddly more Psycho than North by Northwest.

The bloated, convoluted plot would have been somewhat forgivable if Lightning McQueen were the protagonist. But for some reason director John Lasseter decided to switch the focus from Lightning to Mater. In my opinion this was a huge HUGE mistake. Lightning is charming and funny; his dramatic arc in the first film was believable and endearing.

But Mater, a barely tolerable supporting character in Cars, doesn't have the depth to carry his own movie. To put it frankly, Mater is just too dumb to be the protagonist. It seems means to say that about a character in a kid's movie but it's true! He either misinterprets or completely ignores what people say and the results are obnoxiously (and tediously) disastrous. Not only that, but he's so sensitive that any criticism yields a mammoth mood drop. This leads to all characters catering to his feelings as if he were a child.

For example, when he makes a fool out of himself and Lightning McQueen in Tokyo, McQueen gets understandably upset. But he's the one who has to feel bad when they fight (you've been a very bad car...a very VERY bad BAD car, Lightning). This all leads to a boring "be yourself" message, which left a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe I'm a conformist, but I don't think people should be able to act however they want in inappropriate settings i.e. a ritzy party in a big city. Mater (and the kids who see themselves in him) should learn the rules of polite society. Mater's behavior at the party (and in the rest of the movie) is pretty obnoxious but he gets a free pass!

The supporting characters, including two British spies (Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer), are okay but they're all sidelined to make room for Mater's hijinks. The characters in Radiator Springs are all but forgotten. And that's too bad--they were such fun in the first movie.

I think the kids will enjoy this movie but I found it frustrating and ludicrous. The violence was unnecessarily brutal and I also don't think the movie made good use of its locations (Japan, France, Italy, England). If they just had to make a sequel, I wish they had made one just a tad closer to the heart of the original.

Cars 2: C

PS - sorry for the heavy Beyonce clips earlier in the blog...except I'm not really sorry at all.