Crazy, Stupid, Love - DVD

Movie: Love is not only beautiful. Sometimes it's also crazy or just plain stupid. Crazy, Stupid, Love. The different facets of the actually most beautiful feeling in the world have Glenn Ficarra and John Requa in a very special way already illuminated in their last film I love you, Phillip Morris. And in their latest directorial effort, love is also at the center of the amusing action, although this comedy proves to be much more straightforward and crowd-pleasing - which is not necessarily to be understood as a disadvantage.

Although routine has crept into his life, Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) hasn't really had anything to complain about so far. He has a decent job, a nice house, married his high school sweetheart and is a happy father. But then Cal's ideal world abruptly falls apart when he learns that Emily (Julianne Moore) has cheated on him and wants a divorce. Instead of fighting, Cal loses himself in deepest self-pity. That only changes when he meets pick-up guy Jacob (Ryan Gosling), who takes the cuckolded husband under his wing to teach him the secrets of how to perfectly seduce women. But just as Cal is celebrating his first successes, Jacob meets the self-assured Hannah (Emma Stone), who throws the womanizer's emotional balance into disarray. But this is only the beginning of numerous romantic entanglements, the outcome of which threatens not to be happy for all involved.

Crazy, Stupid, Love is a nice romantic comedy, which serves numerous clichés, especially towards the end, but at the same time goes against the expectations of the audience in some scenes. However, the comedy derives its high entertainment value primarily from the interplay between the completely different characters Cal and Jacob. While Steve Carell proves to be the perfect casting for the unassuming but very lovable family man, Ryan Gosling seems almost born for the role of the swashbuckling Jacob. His seduction skills and attempts to initiate Cal into them are just too hilarious. At the same time, the moments between the womanizer and Hannah when Jacob's shtick stops working and he shows a much more genuine side are just wonderful. The chemistry between Gosling and the once again great Emma Stone (Easy to Have) is spot on and you just wish this couple to get together - which might be difficult not only because of Jacob's past.

Principally, the film consists of several storylines that are only brought together at the end. There's Cal and Emily's crisis, Jacob and Hannah's relationship, and the budding friendship between the two disparate men, as well as the unrequited love of Cal's thirteen-year-old son Robbie, who has a crush on his 17-year-old babysitter Jessica, who in turn only has eyes for his abandoned father. But Emily's affair with her colleague David Lindhagen (wonderfully sleazy: Kevin Bacon) also takes up a not insignificant portion of the story. Certainly, due to the different storylines the film sometimes seems a bit overloaded, especially since some moments seem rather unnecessary.

But in the end, the chaos pays off in a sugary sweet finale. However, some viewers might be bothered by the final scenes, as they do degenerate too much into kitsch and the elaborately established problems seem to vanish into thin air all at once. Nevertheless, the directors have also included some wonderful little moments here, such as the ending of the story about Robbie and Jessica, which actually make it impossible not to leave the cinema with a satisfied grin on your face.

Crazy, Stupid, Love thankfully relies on its good actors and witty dialogue and doesn't need fecal humor to entertain. If you like American romantic comedies of the more low-key variety, you'll definitely be entertained here. Like love, movies are sometimes beautiful, sometimes crazy, and sometimes just plain stupid. Fortunately, only the former is true of Crazy, Stupid, Love. Worth seeing!

Image + Sound: The technical realization of the DVD is quite adequate for a romantic comedy. The image is clean and has decent overall sharpness despite some minor flaws in detail. The audio remains largely restrained and is dominated by the dialogue. The surround speakers only come into play from time to time through the soundtrack and some ambient noise. Good.

Extras: The DVD only has a couple of cut scenes to offer. If you need more extras, you'll have to reach for the Blu-Ray, which, however, also has only marginally more bonus material to offer. Weak!

Conclusion: Crazy, Stupid, Love is a nice romantic comedy, which can score with funny dialogues, good actors and some original ideas and despite quite a few clichés and some small lengths from beginning to end offers good entertainment. The DVD is technically well done, only the bonus material is a point deduction. Overall, for genre fans still a clear buy recommendation!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp