Crazy, Stupid, Love: Behind-The-Scenes Facts You Didn’t Know About The Movie

Many audiences call Crazy, Stupid, Love one of the best romantic movies of the 2010s. The story follows several interconnected characters as they search to make sense of their tumultuous love lives. The film has developed a cult fan base, and more viewers get sucked into the title each year.

Crazy, Stupid, Love features an ensemble cast of stars in a funny but touching story. Fans perhaps wonder how the movie came to be and might be surprised by behind-the-scenes facts about the celebrated flick.

It Had A Funny Working Title

There was quite a journey that lead to the film’s title. To many fans, Crazy, Stupid, Love seems like it could never be called by another name. However, for a long time during production, the people behind the movie were at a loss at what to call it.

Emma Stone, who plays Hannah Weaver, was interviewed during the time of filming by Artisan News Service. She says she is working on a movie called Untitled Marital Crisis Comedy, and joked that she hopes they’ll keep the title. Several different ideas were tossed around until one was chosen.

The Directors Wrote For Nickelodeon

Crazy, Stupid, Love comes from directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. The two are perhaps best known for their work on the movie, as well as Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and I Love You Phillip Morris, one of Leslie Mann’s highest-rated movies.

However, before the two got in directors’ chairs, they wrote for two Nickelodeon shows. The duo wrote over 15 episodes of Angry Beavers and developed an episode for The Wild Thornberrys in the late 1990s.

The First Cut Was 3 Hours Long

Fans of the movie might say it feels short, but the film runs nearly 2 hours long. However, the original cut of the movie was much longer than what audiences came to see.

The directors told Film School Rejects that they often kept film rolling when capturing footage for montage sequences. The result left them with lots of reels, leaving them with an “exhausting” editing process. They said the original cut was 3 hours, and a second cut was 2 and a half.

The Dirty Dancing Bit Is From Gosling’s Life

Crazy, Stupid, Love is one of Ryan Gosling’s highest-rated movies. He makes for several memorable scenes. However, perhaps the actor’s most iconic sequence, and one of the most celebrated in the film, is the Dirty Dancing scene.

Gosling’s Jacob Palmer tells Hannah about how he recreates the lifting scene from Dirty Dancing to impress girls when he takes them home. Entertainment Weekly reported the move comes from Gosling’s real life. He protested putting the tidbit in the movie, but filmmakers thought it was too good to pass up.

Hannah and Jacob’s Pillow Talk Was Improvised

Some audiences might say Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling present impressive chemistry in Crazy, Stupid, Love. Fans perhaps say this chemistry is on display most clearly when their characters talk in bed and begin to fall in love. Writer Dan Fogelman took to Twitter ten years after the film was released to present some thoughts on the project.

He revealed that this scene is his favorite in the movie, and ironically, he didn’t write any of it. He said it was all improvised by the two actors. The two would later give their chemistry to audiences again in La La Land, one of Emma Stone’s most memorable movies.

There Is A Reference to The Office

Fans of The Office know one of its most celebrated running gags comes with Steve Carell’s Michael Scott and Rainn Wilson’s Dwight Schrute. Dwight’s title is “Assistant to the Regional Manager,” not “Assistant Regional Manager.”

There appears to be a reference to this gag in Crazy, Stupid, Love. When Emily Weaver’s desk is presented, she has a small plaque with the specific wording of her title, “Associate To The Vice President.” With Steve Carell starring in the movie, it seems to be more than a coincidence.

It’s Josh Groban’s First Movie

Josh Groban is known for being a multi-platinum recording artist, but the performer sometimes appears in TV and film. Audiences might remember him for small parts on TV shows like Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! and The Office.

However, Groban eventually made the leap to motion pictures, and Crazy, Stupid, Love presents his first feature role. He would go on to appear in other full-length films like Muppets Most Wanted.

“Be Better Than The Gap” Was Almost Cut

One of Jacob’s most memorable lines comes when he is giving Cal Weaver a makeover. Jacob advises Cal by picking out a new wardrobe, accessories, and leading him to get a new haircut.

Cal is stubborn, and at one point Jacob storms off, finally returning after telling him to “be better than The Gap.” One of the directors, Greg Ficarra told EW that the studio told him multiple times to take the line out, as it had ties to The Gap’s CEO, but he insisted it was too funny to cut.

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