Like Crazy

Like Crazy

(M) Paramount DVD/BD

Lessons learned from Like Crazy:

1. Never, ever overstay your visa. EVER.

2. If a man builds you a chair, you know things are getting serious.

3. Long-distance relationships are hardly ever worth it.

4. If you’re in love with somebody, it’s probably not a great idea to enter a serious relationship with somebody else.

5. While you’re at it, save yourself the trouble and try really hard not to fall in love in the first place.

Jacob (Anton Yelchin) and Anna (Felicity Jones) are a young couple in love in LA. For a smart girl, English-born Anna makes a huge blunder in overstaying her student visa.

Yes, people do stupid things when they’re in love. People do stupid things in general. But, whichever way you look at it, overstaying your visa is an incredibly stupid thing to do. And it means nothing but complications for the couple who now must experience the ups and downs of a long-distance relationship.

With Anna in London and Jacob remaining in LA, they strike up other relationships in between their on-again-off-again status; Jacob with co-worker Sam (Jennifer Lawrence, who almost steals the show despite her limited part) and Anna with her neighbour Simon (Charlie Bewley).

This really is a great young cast. Director/co-writer Drake Doremus outlined the situations for the actors but most of the dialogue was improvised and Felicity Jones is especially impressive. Expect big things from her.

One big question Like Crazy poses: Why can’t Jacob move to London? His furniture making skills are questionable at best (I don’t care how much “love” he put into a chair for Anna, that thing was ugly) so staying in LA for business reasons did not make sense.

Yep, there’s no point beating about the bush. Jacob is weak and Anna has placed her bet on the wrong horse here, having to make most of the moves herself, including the first.

This is annoying but it cannot be denied that it is realistic. Love in “real life” is never guaranteed to be neat, tidy or ideal.

I didn’t want Anna to love Jacob — heck, I didn’t want Sam (Lawrence) to either — but plenty of people fall in love with the wrong person. It’s a fact of life. And if life (and this movie) have taught me anything, arguing with this fact is utterly pointless.

When you’re in love “like crazy”, you can kiss reason goodbye.

Jasmine Edwards

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