Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Crazy, Stupid Good

The fun of being a movie goer is that if you sit through enough mediocre movies, you'll stumble into one that's worth the price of admission. Or even the price of popcorn. Which is what Crazy, Stupid Love is. Totally worth it, I mean. Even the popcorn. It might even be worth the cost of the babysitter, popcorn and admission.

I'm saying it was good.

As a movie goer, I loved the acting. Ladies, I'm going to show incredible restraint and out of respect to my husband, I will limit my Ryan Gosling comments to this: he can say so much with the tiniest quirk of an eyebrow. Steve Carrell is in his Dan in Real Life groove here, which I love. And the babysitter is awesome. And Julianne Moore is as good as always. I didn't love the oldest kid, but beyond that, actors=great. Emma Stone: exceptional.

But as a writer, I especially loved this movie because the characters are so well-developed. One of my biggest pet peeves in storytelling is when characters are forced to do something that makes no sense for their personality so that the author can ratchet up tension or complicate the story. But if it's not something the character will actually do, it's super distracting to me. Example: I'm a highly skilled international jewel thief in the middle of a major heist. Oops--forget to turn the cell phone off and now it's ringing. Trouble!

*Facepalm.*

Grrr.  Of course a character can make mistakes; it just drives me nuts when they act against type. The character and writer both lose credibility with me and I lose the pleasure of escapism.

One of the things that I loved about this film is that even though at one point the characters are thrown into a situation that would never, ever happen, it didn't distract me at all because the characters were so consistent. I believed their reactions even though I didn't buy the premise, if that makes any sense at all.

To sum up: Go see Crazy, Stupid Love. I kinda think I might want to go see it again. That's a good movie.

15 comments:

  1. I'm a fellow campaigner stopping in to say Hi :) We are in the same YA group and I can't wait to start.

    Thanks for the movie tip!

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  2. I'd like to see this movie. It does sound good.

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  3. This does sound good! I'll probably have to wait until it comes out on DVD. But I'll definitely check it out! :)

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  4. Yay! I LOVED that movie and laughed my head off! I thought it wad great! As for Ryan Gossling....sigh.... :)

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  5. Hi Mel. I'm a fellow campaigner dropping in to say "hi" and read. I love movies and haven't seen this one. Actually, the only movie I saw in the theater all summer was The Help. Sounds like this is one I need to go see. :)

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  6. I haven't seen this movie yet, but I've heard great things about it. Now that my kiddos are in school, maybe me and my hubby can pop over and take in a matinee.

    Nice to meet you, campaigner, in this big o'blogosphere. ~Angela

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  7. I'll have to put that on my to-watch list. I haven't seen a movie in the theater (except for kids' movies) in FOREVER!

    It's so hard to find non-trite funny movies. The last smart funny movie I watched was the new Masterpiece theater Jane Austen series -- I think it was like a year ago on PBS. Their take on Northanger Abbey was the first one that I liked as much as my imagination when I read it.

    BUT I have to admit when I'm exhausted I have to admit (shh) that I don't mind a totally mindless goofy movie ... (shh)

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  8. Fellow campaigner and new follower stopping by to say hi. I agree - a story is always a winner with me when the characters are believable! Haven't seen this movie yet but now I might. Thanks.

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  9. I follow through GFC and I'm thankful for my family. they put up with me :) I don't know what I would do without them!

    alison.fees@gmail.com

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  10. Dear Melanie -

    Today, I'm grateful that it was only the electrical socket that blew out . . . and not my microwave and computer. How horrid would that have been? No zap for the food and no instant communication with my friends. Alas, disaster was avoided.

    I followed your blog. And by the way - your website is total awesomeness!!! Love it! Big hugs to start off your day.

    Your cyber friend,

    Danyelle

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  11. I sure hope this post wasn't directed at my writing. :-) (I fixed Matt's mom, btw. I didn't think I'd thank you. I was actually sticking my tongue out at you the entire time I rewriteher, but I like her better now. So...thank you. *cringes*)

    I shouldn't even admit that I saw this movie since I'm the YW's president, but I too adored it. You had to sit through some muck to get to the moral, but what a great moral it was. The characters were all really well developed and the acting was superb. And that twist? Did you see that coming? I didn't. I should have, but I didn't.

    I want to buy it, but I can't. But I will rent!

    Love, love, love Emma Stone in this and The Help. She just might be one of my favorite actresses now. And I agree...Ryan Gosling. Nothing else needs to be said.

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  12. Sorry, my brain is fried.

    *rewrote*

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  13. I loved this movie so, so much.

    (You're totally right about Ryan Gosling and his expressive eyebrow, btw.)

    The characters were people. They were real and flawed and beautiful and I want to see it again, too. You know, if you're looking for a movie buddy or something.

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  14. Hi. I'm a new follower. I am so thankful for trials. It helps me remember what's important, that I'm not alone, and that I'm stronger than I realized.

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  15. I am a new follower, and I am thankful for the fact that school started up again. While I LOVE my 5 children, it is so nice to have most of them away for a little while so I can recharge my mommy batteries (and get a little house cleaning done)

    kissyjensen at gmail dot com

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