10 Reasons Why ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’ Is a Masterpiece
I hate romantic movies. They are cheesy, unrealistic, tell a ridiculous story and do so in a ridiculous way. A lot of dramas develop romantic arcs as subplots a lot better than most romantic features do these days. However, sometimes I stumble upon a gem. Many of you know, that gem, at least for me, is ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’. I absolutely adore the film. A while ago, I wrote an article stating 10 reasons why I think ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ is a masterpiece. That’s one of my favorite films of all time and as it happens to be, so is ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’. So, without further ado, here are 10 reasons why ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’ is an absolute masterpiece.
№1: It makes you love love.
It does. It sound cheesy, but this film has a certain way of sneaking up on you. I’m a young adult man and, as mentioned above, I hate romantic comedies. Nevertheless, this production is so well-told that even I could stop myself from going ‘oooooh’ a couple of times. ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’ presents love in an unrealistic way, sure, but not too unrealistic as to get unwatchable. It’s gives us the perfect combination between real life and day-dreaming.
№2: It’s ironic with itself.
The film knows exactly what it is, a sleazy romantic comedy, and that’s what makes it so great. It isn’t afraid to make fun of itself, it takes cheesy situations you have seem a thousand times before, recreates them, but afterwards is ironic to itself for that very thing. It sounds strange, I’m aware, but that’s a very bold thing to do. The fact that this movie does it shows a lot about what it strives to teach us.
№3: It presents and develops characters beautifully.
Most movies nowadays absolutely love to present and develop characters through that one scene where that character suddenly gets all deep and starts literally telling us their emotions. I hate that. Isn’t it so much more interesting to observe a character and learn who they are through their actions and not through their words? ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’ does exactly that. The producers were very aware which character was who, what their aims were, what their backstories are, and thus they presented and developed every one of them perfectly. Especially Jacob.
№4: It’s not cheezy.
It’s not realistic either. As said above, ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’ is the perfect combination between real life and what you want to happen. It doesn’t all end well, it doesn’t all start well either, but the movie does present us with certain themes that are accurate for every single one of us. However, it’s not made to suit only a certain audience of 13 year-old girls, it doesn’t focus only on the good sides of love, and it doesn’t follow the certain narrative posed by most romantic comedies. ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’ gives a little something to anyone who watches it.
№5: That amazing plot-twist.
I’m not going to say exactly what it is because it’s a huge spoiler to those who haven’t seen the film ( if you are one of those, what’s wrong with you?!). I’m just going to say that the movie brilliantly manages to intertwine all story arcs and end them in an epic culmination. It’s amazing, it’s funny, and it’s extremely original. Even at the very end, ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’ manages to keep things exciting.
№6: It doesn’t follow the romantic comedy narrative.
A little more on the technical side. Romantic comedies often follow a certain story-telling outline: a couple meets, they fall in love, it’s all amazing, they have a fight, they break up, they get together. It’s almost always like that. Hell, it’s like that even in ‘La La Land’ (well, almost)! However, ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’ does nothing of the sorts. It’s extremely original in the way it presents the story and thus manages to keep things exciting and interesting even for those who usually don’t like that type of movies (like me).
№7: The chemistry between all actors is astonishing.
It should be clear by now: Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling have unbelievable chemistry. How those two haven’t gotten together by now is beyond me. They are really cute both here and in ‘La La Land’. Besides that, Steve Carell and Julianne Moore have surprisingly tickling chemistry. They work great as a couple and have fantastic scenes together. Hell, even the babysitter and the kid are strangely adorable, I guess?…
№8: It’s good comedy.
How often does it happen to you that you watch a romantic comedy and cease to laugh even once? Very often, I’m guessing. Well, watch ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’ and think again. The film is filled with hilarious one liners, amazing funny sequences, and brilliant comedic actors. I saw it for probably the fifth time yesterday and I still laughed a lot. Truly, very well-written dialogue and great, great jokes all throughout the movie.
№9: The acting is fantastic.
Yes, a lot of that good comedy comes from the great actors. Truly, everyone does a fantastic job in ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’. The thing is, I’ve seen all these actors before and I know they are all generally good. The person that baffled me the most was Jonah Bobo in the role of Robbie. I’m honestly not exaggerating when I say that’s some of the best child acting I’ve seen in my entire life.
№10: It’s quotable.
The only thing that I’m going to say here is that my favorite quote of all time about love comes from this movie. It is as follows:
‘A girl, huh? You like her?’
‘I like Pringles. I mean, this girl… she’s incredible.’
Okay, that’s enough cheesiness. There you have it! 10 reasons why ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’ is a masterpiece! People, I love this film. It’s absolutely incredible and I highly recommend you watch it if you haven’t. I guarantee you won’t regret it for a second… you know, because of the reasons mentioned above. 😉
Have you seen ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’? Do you like it? Did I miss anything in my list? Share your thoughts in the comments section below, please! Don’t forget to like and share this article of Facebook or Twitter if you enjoyed it!
Thanks for reading,
Pouty Boy
Yes! This post is everything. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve bought this movie on DVD as a gift for people who hate romcoms.
It’s also turned into a Valentine’s Day tradition for my husband and I 🙂