Crazy Stupid Love 2011- Glenn Ficarra and John Requa

Crazy Stupid Love 2011- Glenn Ficarra and John Requa

Ficarra and Requa have worked together in films of the same comedy genre such as; I love you Phillip Morris and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Crazy Stupid Love is one of their more recent films with bigger actors compared to other films they have made.

Crazy Stupid Love has a theme of love running through it. Not only romantic love but friendship love. We can see the friendship love between Cal and Jacob. At the beginning of the film Cal looses his wife and turns to drinking at the bar as his way of coping. At first, Jacob’s attention towards Cal can be perceived as pity. This pity towards Cal can show Jacob’s initial personality; cocky, selfish and not in touch with his feelings. Despite being hesitant, Cal accepts Jacob’s help. Cal appears to be the one struggling, due to his situation, but we can see Jacob struggling to actually make a friend. Yes, he is a charmer and can easily get his way with women, but we can see his is not sure how to approach friends and this makes the audience question if he actually has a true friend.

A lot of the scenes with Cal and Jacob at the beginning of the film take place in the bar. The lighting is very low and with quite warm hues, such as orange. This lighting can connote the initial relationship between Cal and Jacob. The lighting can suggest that the relationship between the two has yet to blossom. The darkness of the lighting connotes the un-solved problems the two has, as the problems have a dark effect on both characters, especially Cal. The warmness can connote the fact that the two get on well, the intentions of the friendship is pure and will end up to have positive effects on both characters.

Hannah and Cal break Jacob. Cal is significant to Jacob, as he appears to be his first true friend. Even though the relationship between them is one sided at one point, Jacob makes no references to having any other friends in the film apart from Cal. When finding his happiness with Hannah, Cal is the first person he calls for relationship advice. This can connote Jacob moving on from his “player” days and almost moving his old self onto Cal. Hannah is significant to Jacob as she sees through his is tricks to “play” her like he would typically do to a woman. Hannah appears to be the girl he needs to help him settle down. On the other hand, Jacob is the person that steps her away from her job and the serious and boring group of friends that came with. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone have now appeared in three films together; Crazy Stupid Love, Gangster Squad and La La Land.

As much as Crazy Stupid Love is about Cal and finding his new self, in style and personality, Crazy Stupid is also about Jacob finding what he needs in life to settle down in life, rather than women and alcohol.