Loving Steve Carell and Julianne Moore felt like a good start. That and the generally positive reviews I’d seen. But ‘Crazy Stupid Love’ fell a little flat for me. Not a write-off, just not the gem I’d hoped. It’s certainly not the first film to be built on an implausible premise but the idea that the very hot Jacob (Ryan Gosling) would take a 40-something whinging stranger (Carell) under his wing was a bit hard to take. I wasn’t alone in feeling a bit let down. In the session I attended, two couples and one other person left about half way through the film and didn’t return.
But if you can suspend reality there’s some good laughs to be had and at least one genuinely surprising moment. Don’t want to ruin a plot surprise but will say there was some great casting of relatives.
An audible whimper from the audience when Gosling removed his shirt did make me giggle (that body’s certainly whimper-worthy) but appreciation for him went beyond the body. And the face. He had a great chemistry with Carell and Emma Stone, who stars as Hannah, the woman who gets under his womaniser skin.
Too high expectations coupled with some douche bag audience behaviour (OTT pashing and answering a phone call were stand-outs) soured my experience with this one a little, but still worth the $18 I reckon.