This movie contains drinking, swearing, and sexual content. Viewer discretion is advised.

Romance. Kind of cheesy, the genre gets a lot of criticism, and I admit I am often one of those critics. But when I come across a romance movie that has a certain charm, I obsess over it. 

Crazy, Stupid, Love is a rom-com that always seems to make me laugh when I watch it. It’s relatable and sometimes makes you cringe, in a sweet and endearing sort of way. 

Ryan Gosling’s character, Jacob, is a womanizer in the film. Cal, Steve Carrell’s character, is an uptight, out-of-the-loop man who seems to have the American Dream, until the five-minute mark in the movie when his wife Emily announces that she wants a divorce. Not only that, she tells him that she had been cheating on him for some time with a co-worker. Distraught, Cal ends up at the club that Jacob seems to make his second home. Cal vocalizes his divorce so much that it becomes annoying, so Jacob decides to take him under his wing to reinvent his life to help him get over his now ex-wife.

Crazy, Stupid, Love is like a rollercoaster. Since the movie is set up so that the two parts of the story come together, and you get in the groove of one storyline just before being pulled to another part of the story that is happening within the same time frame. Rarely used in movies, this concept keeps you engaged in the film. The composition of the film is supposed to set you up for a shock that happens within the rising action of the film, and I was certainly surprised when the shock came to light. Although, when you see the second part of the story, it isn’t set up to be a sneak attack. You automatically wonder: “How is this important to the story?” 

The dialogue in this movie is more up-front with its comedy. You don’t have to pay close attention to what the characters are saying to catch a joke, so if you prefer more clever comedy, this film isn’t really for you. Most of the comedy comes from the shock factor of “did that just really happen?” and “they did not just say that,” especially with Jessica and Robbie, as well as Cal. It makes you feel secondhand embarrassment, and that’s what makes it funny because as the viewer, you know that you would never do that.

This movie is a pretty generic rom-com film. The uniqueness that makes this film its own is the fact that two storylines merge into one. It’s engaging, and you get a few big laughs as well as some awkward ones. In conclusion, I give this movie a solid 4 out of 5 stars only because it could have been a little more unique with its character stereotypes. If you need something lighthearted and romantic to watch, I definitely think this film is worth a try.