CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
Film Review: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling in Great ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’
CHICAGO – “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” is undeniably clichéd, broad in its humor, and a bit manipulative in its sentimentality, but it should be. This is a movie about grand statements, soulmates, and true passion, a film that unabashedly believes in the craziness and the stupidity of what we call love. It’s also one of the most purely entertaining films of the year.
Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
Dan Fogelman’s script follows multiple characters and arcs to their inevitable intersections and directors Glenn Ficarra & John Requa (“I Love You Phillip Morris”) expertly assemble the pieces in such a way that the saccharine flavor and cheesy topping won’t bother any but the most cynical viewers. With one of the best romantic dramedy ensembles of all time (including three once-and-future Oscar nominees along with at least one other likely to join that club) clicking in every possible way, “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” is smart, funny, clever, and what so few of these movies ever are – simply enjoyable.
Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” in our reviews section. |
Cal (Steve Carell) and Emily Weaver (Julianne Moore) are getting a divorce. Emily slept with a smarmy co-worker (Kevin Bacon) after losing the passion in their marriage over so many years. Their son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) is passionately in love with his babysitter Jessica (Analeigh Tipton), who happens to be passionately in love with Cal. Life in the Weaver household is complicated.
Of course, after the divorce announcement, Cal moves out and spends most of his time in the least-crowded bar in the world (there’s never anyone standing in it, you can always get to the bartender, and it has the highest hot-girl-to-guy ratio on the planet…seriously, it’s like a trendy bar regular’s vision of heaven). It’s there that he runs into his opposite when it comes to success with the ladies – the super-smooth Jacob (Ryan Gosling). After watching Cal pout into his drink while waiting for his nightly conquest a few too many times, Jacob confronts him on his lack of a spine and offers to give him one.
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Photo credit: Warner Bros. Pictures