Double Feature Duel: Monster vs. Crazy, Stupid, Love

Double Feature Duel:
Monster vs. Crazy, Stupid, Love

Bout #32: Last but not least, two of the best movies in this bracket by far.

Monster: All I knew about this is that Charlize Theron won an Oscar and gained a lot of weight for this role. Turns out it was a really good movie, and a true story to boot. It had prostitution, lesbianism, drinking, murder and a cute, awkward Christina Ricci. And at the heart, it was a love story. It’s good to see a movie made with three-dimensional characters who get conflicted about decisions. And the movie did an impressive job of getting the audience to buy into this woman and her serial killing ways. You understand and sympathize a lot more than you pass judgment and detest. It was an excellent portrait of a troubled person in a shitty situation and Theron’s head-jerk hair-flip move alone could have earned her the Oscar. Not to mention her stonewashed jeans. 9 bugs.

Crazy, Stupid, Love.: Cheesy, silly, fun. There were character inconsistencies, awkwardly positioned scenes and forced plot points mixed in with a fun buddy story, superb comedic acting and a few moments of great dialogue. And the end made the whole movie worth the wait. Not the very end with the overpowering cherry flavoring, but you’ll know what I’m talking about. It was Kayser Soze for comedy. It’s like seeing the track ahead of you on the roller coaster and thinking you have it all prepared, when right at the crest of the hill, the floor drops out. And then the guy next to you gives you a box of chicken fingers you didn’t order, but you so desperately want anyway. We knew what the very end was going to bring when we saw who was in the movie, but it’s one of the few movies I wanted to watch again immediately after finishing it. It’s worth it alone to check out the scenes with Ryan Gosling coaching Steve Carrel in the art of the pick-up. 8.5 bugs.

Title: I’m a fan of the one-word titles. I’m also a fan of using a little bit of punctuation. But the period is so fucking annoying when you’re writing about it. (Point, Monster 1-0)

Funnier: By a country mile. (Point, Crazy 1-1)

Better Turn: Any scene that can make you understand the psyche of a serial killer is a pretty awesome scene. (Point, Monster 2-1)

Better Ending: Well, it wasn’t technically the very ending, but the big reveal scene was a piece of comic magic. (Point, Crazy 2-2)

Better Message: Maybe not a message per se, but definitely worth mentioning (again) that this is a movie that makes you appreciate and sympathize with a serial killer. And one that actually existed. (Point, Monster 3-2)

Better Acting: I do love the comic stylings of Ryan Gosling and Steve Carrel, but the Oscar was definitely deserved. (Point, Monster 4-2)

More Creative: It’s super tough for based on real life stories to compete in this category, and Crazy was creative enough in its handling of the Ryan Gosling taking Steve Carrel under his wing situation to stave off the true story. (Point, Crazy 4-3)

Poster: I was on the fence until the “portrait of life, love and everything in between” quote from somebody from Fox TV. So a bad quote by an unknown source. Flush. (Point, Monster 5-3)

Watch again: As I mentioned, I really liked Crazy and almost watched it again immediately. The only thing that stopped me was that I have a job, a wife and a baby on the way. (Point, Crazy 5-4)

Overall: So close. Winner: Monster (5-4)