Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

Directors:

Glenn Ficarra
John Requa

Writer (WGA):

Dan Fogelman (written by)

Release Date:

29 July 2011 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

This Is Crazy

Plot:

A middle-aged husband's life changes dramatically when his wife asks him for a divorce. He seeks to rediscover his manhood with the help of a newfound friend, Jacob, learning to pick up girls at bars.

Plot Keywords:

Bar | Girl | Friend | Divorce | Love

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Steve Carell	...	Cal Weaver
Ryan Gosling	...	Jacob Palmer
Julianne Moore	...	Emily Weaver
Emma Stone	...	Hannah
Analeigh Tipton	...	Jessica Riley
Jonah Bobo	...	Robbie Weaver
Joey King	...	Molly Weaver
Marisa Tomei	...	Kate Taffety
Beth Littleford	...	Claire Riley
John Carroll Lynch	...	Bernie Riley
Kevin Bacon	...	David Lindhagen
Liza Lapira	...	Liz
Josh Groban	...	Richard
Mekia Cox	...	Hip Hairdresser Tiffany
Julianna Guill	...	Madison
Zayne Emory	...	Robbie's Friend (Eric)
Crystal Reed	...	Amy Johnson
Joanne Brooks	...	Waitress for Cal and Kate
Reggie Lee	...	Officer Huang
Caitlin Thompson	...	Taylor
Karolina Wydra	...	Jordyn
Tracy Mulholland	...	Megan
Katerina Mikailenko	...	Stephanie
Janine Barris	...	Heather
Jenny Mollen	...	Lisa
Charlie Hartsock	...	Sad Sack
Algerita Wynn Lewis	...	Robbie's Principal (as Algerita Lewis)
Wendy Worthington	...	Woman (Who Gives Cal Tour)
Dan Butler	...	Cal's Boss
Tiara Parker	...	Gabby
Laurel Coppock	...	Sophia
Rasika Mathur	...	Emily's Assistant
Joshua Sternlicht	...	Bartender
Jasen Salvatore	...	Bartender #2
Mike Long	...	Bartender #3 (as Michael Long)
Dillon Neaman	...	Bartender #4
J-ray	...	Bartender #5 (as J-Ray Hochfield)
Janae Nicole Caudillo	...	Bartender #6
Christopher Darga	...	Lowe's Salesman #1
Rich Hutchman	...	Lowe's Salesman #2
Richard Steven Horvitz	...	Lowe's Salesman #3 (as Richard Horvitz)
Lauren Stone	...	Mall Clerk
Megan James	...	Hannah's Colleague #1
Rebecca Flinn	...	Hannah's Colleague #2
Billy Atchison	...	Hannah's Colleague #3
Ehrin Marlow	...	Hannah's Colleague #4
David Orosz	...	Hannah's Colleague #5
Camille Abelow	...	Hannah's Colleague #6
Maija Polsley	...	Jacob's Date
Christian Pitre	...	Waitress with Check
Heather La Bella	...	Female Bartender
Georgia Hurd	...	Jacob's Girl
Lisa Brown	...	Jacob's Girl #2
Tingting Yu	...	Jacob's Girl #3
Raena Cassidy	...	Raena
Ami Haruna	...	Ami
Jessica Diz	...	Olivia
Tania Wagner	...	Tania
Georgia Treantafelles	...	Georgia
Holly Daniels	...	Assistant Principal
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jennifer Barbosa	...	Amy's Friend (uncredited)
Christian Cage	...	Man Flirting in Bar (uncredited)
Olga Fonda	...	Danielle (uncredited)
Leo Georgallis	...	Bar Patron (uncredited)
Greg Hain	...	Hot Guy at Bar (uncredited)
Ace Antonio Hall	...	Man at Bar (uncredited)
Vivian Khouri	...	Lounge Patron (uncredited)
Leah Kilpatrick	...	Girl at Bar (uncredited)
Laura McDavid	...	Woman on Date (uncredited)
Grasie Mercedes	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Anna Mikaels	...	Parent (uncredited)
Stephane Nicoli	...	Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
David Hall Page	...	Man in Locker Room (uncredited)
Shane Schoeppner	...	Audience Member (uncredited)
Christopher Villar	...	Club Patron (uncredited)
Lily Winn	...	Student (uncredited)

Directed by
Glenn Ficarra
John Requa

Writing credits (WGA)
Dan Fogelman		(written by)

Produced by
Eryn Brown	....	co-producer
Steve Carell	....	producer
Vance DeGeneres	....	executive producer
Denise Di Novi	....	producer
Jeffrey Harlacker	....	associate producer
Charlie Hartsock	....	executive producer
David Siegel	....	executive producer (as David A. Siegel)

Original Music by
Christophe Beck
Nick Urata

Cinematography by
Andrew Dunn		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Lee Haxall

Casting by
Mindy Marin

Production Design by
William Arnold

Art Direction by
Sue Chan

Set Decoration by
David Smith

Costume Design by
Dayna Pink

Makeup Department
David LeRoy Anderson	....	makeup artist: Steve Carrell (as Dave Anderson)
Kimberly Carlson	....	hair stylist
Deborah La Mia Denaver	....	makeup artist: Julianne Moore
Roxane Griffin	....	key hair stylist
Barbara Olvera	....	hair dresser: Ms. Moore & Ms. Tomei
Geri B. Oppenheim	....	key makeup artist
Peter Tothpal	....	hair department head
Peter Tothpal	....	hair stylist: Steve Carell
Cinzia Zanetti	....	makeup artist
Deborah La Mia Denaver	....	makeup department head (uncredited)
David Forrest	....	makeup artist: Miss Tomei (uncredited)
Barbara Olvera	....	hair dresser: Julianne Moore (uncredited)

Production Management
Jennifer Corey	....	production supervisor
David Siegel	....	unit production manager
Jeffrey Harlacker	....	post-production supervisor (uncredited)
Mark Scoon	....	executive in charge of production (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stephen E. Hagen	....	first assistant director (as Stephen Hagen)
Brandon Lambdin	....	second assistant director
Jon Recher	....	second second assistant director (as Johnny Recher)

Art Department
Alejandro Aguilar	....	construction foreman
Perry Bachelor	....	set dresser
Jennifer R. Blair	....	art department coordinator
John Bratton	....	set dresser
Richard Brunton	....	leadman (as Rich Brunton)
John Coven	....	storyboard artist
Phil Dagort	....	set designer (as Philip Dagort)
Nicole Eldredge	....	set dresser
China Fox	....	assistant property master
Douglas Fox	....	property master (as Doug Fox)
Ernesto Gaecia	....	construction foreman
Brenner Hugh Harris	....	set dresser
Robert Kusler	....	propmaker
David B. Long	....	propmaker (as David Long)
Merdyce McClaran	....	on-set dresser
Michael McCombe	....	greens foreman (as Michael J. McCombe)
Jeffrey McMahon	....	construction foreman (as Jeff McMahon)
Barbara Mesney	....	set designer
Anthony Millr	....	modeler
Ken Murohy	....	propmaker
Steven O'Bannon	....	construction foreman
Kim Richey	....	assistant property master
John H. Samson	....	construction coordinator (as John Samson)
Kelly Schultz	....	set dresser (as Kelton Schultz)
Paul Stanwyck	....	paint supervisor
R. Lucas Stewart	....	propmaker
Michael P. Sweeney	....	assistant property master (as Michael Sweeney)
Samuel J. Tell	....	set dresser (as Sammy Tell)
Robert Williams	....	propmaker
Rani Woods	....	sustainability staff assistant
Tim Ackers	....	standby painter (uncredited)
Bennett Andrews	....	greensman (uncredited)
Brett Chapman	....	props (uncredited)
Doug Crawford	....	propmaker (uncredited)
Eva Firshein	....	buyer (uncredited)
Charles Kern	....	camera scenic (uncredited)
Andrew Kim	....	set decorating assistant (uncredited)
Tony Miller	....	lead plaster foreman (uncredited)
Chris Patterson	....	property assistant (uncredited)
Eric Rosenberg	....	graphic designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Ron Bartlett	....	sound re-recording mixer
Nick Carbone	....	cable
Johnna Chism	....	first assistant sound editor (as Johnna Chism Restori)
Carmen Flores De Tanis	....	assistant sound editor
David Lee Fein	....	foley artist (as David Fein)
Eric Flickinger	....	sound re-recording mix technician
Albert Gasser	....	sound effects editor
Aaron Glascock	....	supervising sound editor
Doug Hemphill	....	sound re-recording mixer (as D.M. Hemphill)
Hilda Hodges	....	foley artist
David Jobe	....	foley mixer
Vanessa Lapato	....	dialogue editor
James Morioka	....	dialogue editor
Thomas J. O'Connell	....	adr mixer
Benjamin Patrick	....	sound mixer
Curt Schulkey	....	supervising sound editor
Chris Shadley	....	cable assistant
Brian Wittle	....	boom operator
Beauxregard Neylon	....	adr mixer (uncredited)
John Joseph Thomas	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Donald Elliot	....	special effects foreman
Michael Lantieri	....	special effects supervisor
Frankie Ludica	....	special effects technician
Matt McDonnell	....	special effects technician (as Matthew McDonnell)
Dan Ossello	....	special effects technician (as Daniel Ossello)

Visual Effects by
Cara Buckley	....	visual effects supervisor: Gravity
Jim Rider	....	visual effects supervisor: Gravity
Eric Swenson	....	visual effects supervisor: on-set (Gravity)
Cynthia Angel	....	visual effects coordinator: Gravity (uncredited)
Leslie Chung	....	digital compositor: Gravity (uncredited)
Kyle Cody	....	digital compositor: Gravity (uncredited)
Sean Curran	....	previz: Gravity (uncredited)
Luciano DiGeronimo	....	digital compositor: Gravity (uncredited)
Adam Francis	....	motion control technician (uncredited)
Mike Leben	....	motion control operator (uncredited)
Ryan Leonard	....	digital compositor: Gravity (uncredited)
Karin Levinson	....	visual effects executive producer: Gravity (uncredited)
Yuval Levy	....	digital effects supervisor: Gravity (uncredited)
Paul Maples	....	motion control operator (uncredited)
David Piombino	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
Chris B. Schnitzer	....	director of visual effects: Warner Bros. (uncredited)

Stunts
Cameron Croughwell	....	stunts
Charles Croughwell	....	stunt coordinator (as Charlie Croughwell)
Jeff Habberstad	....	stunts
Trevor Habberstad	....	stunts
Randy Hall	....	stunts
David Rowden	....	stunts
Erik Solky	....	stunts
Stacey Carino	....	stunt double: Analeigh Tipton (uncredited)
Trevor Habberstad	....	stunt double: Ryan Gosling (uncredited)
Erik Solky	....	stunt double: Steve Carell (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Matthew E. Alper	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera (as Matthew Alper)
Michael Anderson	....	key grip (as Mike Anderson)
Bryan Ashford	....	dolly grip
Mike Connors	....	electrician
Malcolm Doran	....	rigging best boy grip
Mitch Dubin	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Tulio Duenas	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Ben Glass	....	still photographer
Daniel C. Gold	....	camera operator: "b" camera (as Dan Gold)
Steve Graves	....	best boy grip
Matthew Haskins	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Jessica Lakoff	....	camera loader
Len Levine	....	chief lighting technician
Dennis J. Lootens	....	rigging gaffer
Michael Lowrance	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Greg Mitchell	....	video assist operator
Don Selsor	....	key rigging grip
Victor A. Shelehov	....	dolly grip (as Victor Shelehov)
Chris Toll	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Melvin 'Butch' Von Bulow	....	dolly grip (as Butch Von Bulow)
Alex M. Cacciarelli	....	motion control video assist (uncredited)
Brian Cantrell	....	electrician (uncredited)
Anthony Erlandson	....	grip (uncredited)
Brian Evans	....	electrician (uncredited)
Michael Fitzgerald	....	epk photographer (uncredited)
Sheila Greene	....	rigging (uncredited)
Alexander Griffiths	....	grip (uncredited)
Chris Haarhoff	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Dan Jones	....	electrician (uncredited)
Lee Majors	....	electrician (uncredited)
John Mang	....	dolly grip (uncredited)
Michael A. Mendez	....	best boy grip (uncredited)
Michael Sapienza	....	rigging grip (uncredited)
Chris Shadley	....	video assist/cable (uncredited)
David W. Slodki	....	dimmer board operator (uncredited)
Brent Studler	....	electrician (uncredited)
Mike Visencio	....	rigging assistant chief lighting technician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Chris Bustard	....	extras casting
Kara Lipson	....	casting associate
Mariann H.W. Lee	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Valentina Aulisi	....	costumer: Steve Carell
Kurt J. Blackwell	....	costumer (as Kurt Blackwell)
Lisa Bojarski	....	costumer
Amy Brownson	....	costumer
Corey Deist	....	assistant costume designer
Sharon Fauvel	....	costumer
Bradley Inaba	....	set costumer
Sonny Merritt	....	key costumer
Bob Morgan	....	costume supervisor
Shelli Nishino	....	costumer
Nina Padovano	....	costumer
Kelly Porter	....	set costumer
Tim Wegman	....	costumer
Pablo Borges	....	costumer (uncredited)
Daniel Flores	....	costumer (uncredited)
Suzy Magnin	....	costumer (uncredited)
Cheri Reed	....	additional costumer (uncredited)
Michael Welch	....	set costumer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
David Berman	....	first assistant editor
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
Elana Joy Livneh	....	second assistant editor (as Elana Livneh Lessem)
Jason Miller	....	post-production coordinator
Adam Ohl	....	digital intermediate producer
David Orr	....	color timer
Joe Rogan	....	post-production assistant
Howard Scott Stein	....	digital intermediate editor
Jan Yarbrough	....	digital intermediate colorist
Tim Weyers	....	post-production coordinator (uncredited)

Music Department
George Drakoulias	....	music supervisor
Jim Dunbar	....	music coordinator (as James Dunbar)
Peter Erskine	....	musician
Steve Kaplan	....	score recordist
Jake Monaco	....	orchestrator
Randall Poster	....	music consultant: rock 'n' roll
Jason Ruder	....	music editor
Jason Ruder	....	music supervisor
Adam Sanborne	....	composer: additional music
Casey Stone	....	score mixer
Casey Stone	....	score recordist
Andrew Synowiec	....	musician: guitar
Kim Blackburn Bowen	....	music consultant (uncredited)
Al Clay	....	score mixer (uncredited)
Eric Corne	....	score recordist (uncredited)
George Doering	....	musician (uncredited)
Matt Fausak	....	music editor (uncredited)
Mark Graham	....	music preparation (uncredited)
Frank Longo	....	additional music (uncredited)
David Metzner	....	music editor (uncredited)
Victor Pesavento	....	music preparation (uncredited)
Adam Peters	....	musician: cello soloist (uncredited)
Adam Peters	....	string arrangements (uncredited)
Peter Rotter	....	music contractor (uncredited)
Gina Zimmitti	....	music contractor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Vic Cuccia	....	transportation captain
Dan Romero	....	transportation coordinator (as Daniel Romero)
Tim May	....	driver (uncredited)
Jim Petti	....	transportation co-captain (uncredited)
Don Poole	....	transportation (uncredited)
Dean Winton	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Richie Adams	....	title designer
MacKenzie Allen	....	assistant: Vance Degeneres & Charlie Hartsock
Chung An	....	assistant: Glenn Ficarra & John Requa
Caroline Andrade	....	second assistant production accountant
Chris Angulo	....	assistant: Ryan Gosling
Susannah Barnes	....	assistant: David Siegel
Julie Carideo	....	production coordinator
Jacob Charney	....	key assistant location manager
Maureen Poon Fear	....	assistant: Denise Di Novi
Stephanie Fugleberg	....	set production assistant
Ruben Guevara III	....	production office assistant (as Ruben Guevara)
Forrest Hartl	....	set production assistant
Patrick Hernandez	....	production office assistant
Jason Inman	....	medic
Eva Jensen	....	studio teacher
Ross Jensen	....	production accountant
Heather Kehayas	....	set production assistant
Jess King	....	assistant production coordinator
Ken Lavet	....	location manager
Jacqueline Lesko	....	assistant: Denise Di Novi
Jennifer Lobban	....	second assistant accountant
Mousy McCallum	....	set production assistant (as Olivia McCallum)
Mark McSorley	....	production office assistant
Guy Morrison	....	key assistant location manager
Crystal Munson	....	set production assistant
Dillon Neaman	....	set production assistant
Paulette Osorio	....	unit publicist
Griffin Pocock	....	production assistant
Jennessa Rose	....	voices
Julianna Rose	....	voices
Emma Siegel	....	set production assistant
Paul Straw	....	production secretary
Carlos Tapia	....	key assistant location manager (as Carlos Tapia-Gullon)
Spencer Taylor	....	set production assistant
Jayne-Ann Tenggren	....	script supervisor
Dawn Terashima	....	set production assistant
Tammy Thomas	....	production assistant
Debbie Tieman	....	first assistant accountant
Nick Tolmasov	....	medic
Jacob M. Torres	....	assistant location manager (as Jacob Torres)
Andrew Turner	....	set production assistant: New York
Jeff Winn	....	craft service
Tansey Allen	....	production staff (uncredited)
Ryan Babbs	....	stand-in: Kevin Bacon (uncredited)
Nicholas S. Biron	....	assistant location manager (uncredited)
Meghan Burchfield	....	additional set production assistant (uncredited)
Ashley Bush	....	set intern (uncredited)
Rose Cox	....	craft service assistant (uncredited)
Colleen Craig	....	dance double: "Hannah" (uncredited)
Allison Daly	....	payroll accountant (uncredited)
Seth Robert Dusky	....	adr loop group (uncredited)
Lauren Fash	....	set production assistant (uncredited)
Caroline Fife	....	stand-in: Mrs. Julianne Moore (uncredited)
Elan Garfias	....	adr voice (uncredited)
Katherine Grace	....	layout board (uncredited)
James Henderson	....	stand-in: Ryan Gosling (uncredited)
Cody Klop	....	additional voices (uncredited)
Kaitlin Kubiak	....	set intern (uncredited)
Jonathan Levinson	....	set intern (uncredited)
Kevin Maier	....	stand in: Steve Carell (uncredited)
Mandy Noack	....	art production assistant (uncredited)
Mark Palmer	....	craft service assistant (uncredited)
Megan Romero	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Matthew Switzer	....	additional production assistant (uncredited)
Regina Taufen	....	voice actor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Carousel Productions (II)

Distributors

• Acme Film (2011) (Lithuania) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Warner Filmes de Portugal (2011) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Village Films (2011) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment (2011) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2011) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2011) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2011) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2011) (UK) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2011) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2011) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2011) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2011) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2011) (Argentina) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Warner Home Video (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Warner Home Video (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2011) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• Gravity (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Canali  select wardrobe: Mr, Carell
• Central Casting  extras casting
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes and dollies (as Chapman Leonard)
• Digital Media Services (DMS)  digital asset management
• Direct Tools & Fasteners  expendables
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Film Art  art consulting
• Go For Locations  locations website hosting
• Hula Post  editing systems
• Limelight Catering  catering
• Movie Movers  hair and make-up trailers
• Panavision  camera systems
• River Road Creative  main and end titles
• Scarlet Letters  end titles
• Star Waggons  cast trailers
• Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging  digital intermediate (as Motion Picture Imaging)
• WaterTower Music  soundtrack

Also Known As:

"Loco y estúpido amor" - Argentina (imdb display title), Mexico (imdb display title)
"Őrült, dilis, szerelem." - Hungary
"Оглупели от любов" - Bulgaria (Bulgarian title) (imdb display title)
"Эта - дурацкая - любовь" - Russia
"Çilgin Aptal Ask" - Turkey (Turkish title) (imdb display title)
"Amor a Toda Prova" - Brazil (imdb display title)
"Amor, Estúpido e Louco" - Portugal (imdb display title)
"Bláznivá, ztracená láska" - Czech Republic (imdb display title)
"Crazy, Stupid, Love." - Greece (imdb display title)
"Hölmö hullu rakkaus" - Finland (imdb display title)
"Kocha, lubi, szanuje" - Poland (imdb display title)
"Kvaila, beprotiska meile" - Lithuania (imdb display title)
"Loco y estupido amor" - Uruguay (imdb display title)
"Love Again" - Japan (English title) (imdb display title)
"Ta luda ljubav" - Croatia (imdb display title)
"Ta nora ljubezen" - Slovenia (imdb display title)
"Tippesh, metoraf, meohav" - Israel (Hebrew title) (alternative title)
"Un amour fou" - Canada (French title) (imdb display title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for coarse humor, sexual content and language

Runtime:

USA:118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS (as Datasat Digital Sound) | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #46579) | Ireland:15A | Malaysia:PG-13 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Sweden:Btl | Japan:G | UK:12A | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | India:A | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Norway:7 | South Africa:13L | Netherlands:6 | New Zealand:M | South Korea:15 | Germany:12 | France:U

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Carousel Productions (II)

Trivia:

Robbie's class is studying the Scarlet Letter. This novel is the basis for Emma Stone's previous movie Easy A (2010).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): (At 1:44:30) The man in front of Cal is "recording" with the lens cap on.

Quotes:

Cal:How about we say what we want on three? One, two, three.
Emily:I want a divorce.
Cal:[at the same time] Creme brulee.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Emma Stone/Adam Carolla/Rickey Minor & Friends (#19.184)" (2011)

Soundtrack:

Save Room

Creme Brulee or a Divorce?

Greetings again from the darkness. From the opening scene it is clear we aren't in for a typically lame rom-com with caricatures instead of characters and punchlines instead of feelings. Instead, this one is all about the characters and their feelings ... realistic feelings of pain, anger, hope and frustration. Now don't misunderstand. It doesn't go too deep and there is still plenty of humor in the moments.

Cal (Steve Carell) and Emily (Julianne Moore) are sharing one of their many restaurant moments over the course of their long, steady marriage. Only this time, something spoils the comfort zone. Emily says she wants a divorce and later tells Cal that she had an affair with a co-worker (Kevin Bacon). What follows is as close to real life reactions as we could ever hope for in a rom-com. Cal is hurt. The kids are angry. Emily is confused. Their friends take sides.

The intertwining story lines and characters are both sad and funny. We see how people react when they are attracted to others ... or not. We see how people react when they wonder if their decision was rash. We see how basically nice people try to do the right thing for themselves and others, but still mess it up sometimes.

After moving out, Cal heads to a local upscale lounge that seems to be stocked with gorgeous women and only a handful of men ... every night. In real life, the line of men waiting to enter would be wrapped around the block. Still, one of the regulars is Jacob, played by Ryan Gosling. He is a thing of beauty to look at it and always quick with just the right line. His science is making women believe he cares about nothing but them. Cal is discouraged by Jacob's incredible success rate. Jacob notices Cal's negative vibe and agrees to train him. But first, the makeover ... wardrobe, haircut and conversation skills.

The polar opposite effect of what you might expect from Hollywood - these nice people begin to question their direction. Cal longs for Emily. Emily still thinks about Cal, but dates her co-worker. The son (Jonah Bobo) has a crush on the older baby-sitter, who has a crush of her own. Even Jacob falls hard for new attorney Hannah (Emma Stone) who has just walked out on her wet rag boyfriend (Josh Groban) who offered her a job, rather than a ring. Oh what a tangled web we weave. And that's just the stuff I can tell you! Cal's first conquest utilizing his newly learned skills is a teacher played with full energy by the terrific Marisa Tomei. She only has a couple of scenes, but as usual, Ms. Tomei makes the most of her screen time. The baby sitter is played well by Analeigh Tipton, but it's interesting to note (in real life) she is 3 days younger than law school grad Hannah (Stone).

All of the actors are top notch here. Steve Carell continues to get better ... this is a superior movie to Date Night (with Tina Fey). Julianne Moore is solid, though her character is mostly mopey. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are both outstanding. Gosling is none for mostly offbeat, dark independent films but shows again how easily he slides back into sex symbol. Ms. Stone is headed for super-stardom. She was really good in Easy A and has a star-making turn in the upcoming film The Help. After that, it's on to the new Spider-Man for her.

Glenn Ficarra and John Requa are the co-directors and were responsible for the much less mainstream I Love You Phillip Morris, with Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor. Surprisingly the film was written by Dan Fogelman, who is known for his script writing on the animated Cars movies.

No question women will enjoy the film, but the surprise is, many men will relate to what's going on with the Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling characters. There is enough humor to keep everyone happy and enough strong writing to say this is a very good movie.