‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ and Other Self-Realization Makeover Movies

The one thing I learned from Crazy, Sexy, Love is that the better you look on the outside, the better your life will become. Yes ladies and gentlemen, being superficial and dressing in expensive clothes helps us become better people on the inside.

I am totally joking — kind of.

Crazy, Stupid, Love has a gaggle of actors that make for one helluva of romantic comedy: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore , Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, and Kevin Bacon. Carell plays Cal, who’s married to Emily (Moore). Emily wants a divorce from Cal because she’s having an affair with David (Bacon). While drinking away his sorrows at a bar, Jacob (Gosling) takes Cal under his wing to make him become a better playboy like him. All the while, Jacob is pining over Hannah (Stone). Marisa Tomei is thrown in there as one of Cal’s freaky/psycho post-divorce conquests.

There are plenty of layers added to this including a son/babysitter/father love triangle which can make for a very confusing and almost contrived storyline for the first 45 minutes — but then characters start falling into place and things begin to gain clarity through the lens of a Shakespearian comedy full of mistaken identity and humorous hijinks.

I was going out of my way to make this movie a priority — mainly because of the cast. The cast work very well as gears of a well-oiled romantic comedy machine that is powered by a clever script by Dan Fogelman and direction by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa. Moore never fails and Carell continues to show that his talent goes beyond cubicles of an office. And if the characters played by Gosling and Stone were a couple in real life, they would be the most disgustingly cute couples known to man.

The movie is one of the best non-CGI movies of the summer. It made me happy. And anything that makes me happy is worth something in this world, right? RIGHT?

In any matter, while watching the movie, I asked myself, “Are there any other movies that involve superficial makeovers that lead to poignant life lessons?”

After a lot of thinking and a lot of IMDb’ing, I answered my own question, “Yes. There are:”

She’s All That (1999): Remember when Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook and Matthew Lillard had meaning in movies? Remember when this movie made “Kiss Me” the theme song to EVERY. SINGLE. TEEN. ROMANCE. on and off screen? I do.

Can’t Buy Me Love (1987): The title of the movie describes the plot: Down-on-his-luck guy (Patrick Dempsey) pays a girl to go out with her (kind of like prostitution) and she makes him over. They both learn valuable lessons in love and life. End of story. Also, I use this movie in a lot of movie round-ups; which means this movie is slathered with cinematic value.

Drive Me Crazy (1999): I was one of the dozen of people who saw this movie. Don’t know exactly what happened to this movie, but I know Adrian Grenier is in it…and Melissa Joan Hart makes him over…and I THINK they fall in love. But who cares? This movie was just a vehicle for Britney Spears’s single by the same name.

Clueless (1995): Much like Jacob’s mission was to help Cal; Cher’s mission was to help Tai. The only difference is that no one ends up making out with their step-brother at the end of Crazy, Stupid, Love. As if.

Hitch (2005): The relationship between Kevin James and Will Smith’s characters is probably the most similar to Cal and Jacob’s. In the end, they all learn a valuable lesson: dressing like a dapper douche will help you find your true love, strengthen your self-esteem and find your place in life. Also, we all learn that no one will never be able to attain the perfection of Gosling’s abs. Ever.

Crazy, Stupid, Love opens in theaters today.