movie-review ... "Crazy, Stupid, Love"

Crazy, Stupid, Love

Crazy, Stupid, Love. is a 2011 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, written by Dan Fogelman, and starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Analeigh Tipton, Marisa Tomei, and Kevin Bacon. The film was released on July 29, 2011.

Plot

Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) is a middle-aged man who learns that his wife Emily (Julianne Moore) cheated on him with a coworker, David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon), and wants a divorce. After moving into his own apartment, Cal goes to a bar night after night, talking loudly about his divorce, until he attracts the attention of a young man named Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). Jacob is a womanizer who successfully beds women each night, although a young woman named Hannah (Emma Stone) recently had rejected his advances. Jacob takes pity on Cal. Jacob agrees to teach Cal how to pick up women, and the two become friends. Using Jacob's teachings, Cal seduces Kate (Marisa Tomei) at the bar. After this encounter, Cal manages to successfully seduce other women in the bar. He sees Emily again at his son Robbie's (Jonah Bobo) parent-teacher conference. The meeting goes well until they discover Robbie's teacher is Kate, who reveals to Emily that she and Cal slept together. Emily leaves in disgust and begins actively dating David.

Meanwhile, Hannah, a recent law school graduate, is expecting her boyfriend, Richard (Josh Groban) to propose marriage while they celebrate her passing the bar exam, but he does not, leaving Hannah hurt. Hannah returns to the bar where she originally rejected Jacob's advances. Upon finding Jacob at the bar, Hannah pulls him into a passionate kiss. The two return to Jacob's home to have sex, but end up talking to each other all night and making a connection. Jacob starts a relationship with Hannah, and he becomes distant from Cal.

At the same time, Robbie makes numerous grand gestures to try to win the heart of his 17-year-old babysitter, Jessica Riley (Analeigh Tipton) who actually has a crush on Cal. On the advice of her classmate Madison (Julianna Guill), she takes naked photos of herself to send to Cal and tucks them away in an envelope inside her dresser drawer.

Later, when Emily calls Cal under the guise of needing help with the house's pilot light, Cal decides to try and win her back. Meanwhile, Jacob returns Cal's calls and apologizes for being unreachable. He tells Cal that he needs advice because he thinks he is falling for a girl (Hannah) and that he is on the way to meet her mother.

Jessica's mother, Claire (Beth Littleford) discovers Jessica's naked photos addressed to Cal in her drawer and shows them to Jessica's father, Bernie (John Carroll Lynch). He rushes to the Weaver residence to confront him about the photos.

Cal and his kids create a makeshift mini golf set in their backyard to remind Emily of their first date. During the gathering, Jacob and Hannah show up at the house, and Hannah is revealed to be Cal and Emily's daughter. At that moment, Bernie shows up and attacks Cal. Jessica arrives and tells her father that Cal knew nothing of the pictures. Then David arrives on the scene to return Emily's sweater from a previous date. Cal, Jacob, David, and Bernie then get into a scuffle which is soon broken up by the police.

Cal starts spending his time at the bar again and receives a visit from Jacob who confesses that he is in love with Hannah. Cal refuses to approve of their relationship because of his knowledge of Jacob's womanizing history. Despite Cal's disapproval, Jacob harbors no ill feelings, but rather respects him and praises him for being a great father.

At Robbie's eighth grade graduation, Robbie is the Salutatorian and gives a pessimistic speech about how he no longer believes in true love and soul-mates. Cal stops him and instead begins to recount his courtship with Emily to the audience, saying that, while he doesn't know if things will work out, he will never give up on Emily. With renewed faith, Robbie reaffirms his love for Jessica to audience's applause. After the ceremony, Cal finally approves of Jacob and Hannah's relationship. Jessica gives Robbie an envelope containing the photos of herself to "get him through high school easily". Cal and Emily have a laugh talking about the events that have transpired the past year, hinting at a reconciliation.

Cast

• Steve Carell as Cal Weaver
• Ryan Gosling as Jacob Palmer
• Julianne Moore as Emily Weaver
• Emma Stone as Hannah
• Analeigh Tipton as Jessica Riley
• Jonah Bobo as Robbie Weaver
• Joey King as Molly Weaver
• Marisa Tomei as Kate Tafferty
• Julianna Guill as Madison
• John Carroll Lynch as Bernie Riley
• Beth Littleford as Claire Riley
• Kevin Bacon as David Lindhagen
• Liza Lapira as Liz
• Josh Groban as Richard

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy,_Stupid,_Love.