Heather's DVD Review: Like Crazy

Is it possible to find everlasting love when you’re in your 20s? That’s the premise behind the romantic drama Like Crazy, now on DVD, which had some touching and perplexing results.

Like Crazy followed College students Jacob (Anton Yelchin) and Anna (Felicity Jones) who met while attending college in California. Anna inspired Jacob with her passionate and quirky writing. Jacob gave Anna a chair that he made personally for her, which was a design that would inspire him in his future career as a furniture designer. Their romance caught on like wildfire as he instantly connected with Anna over their shared love of Paul Simon music and she introduced him to drinking Whiskey. Jacob met Anna’s parents and had an immediate rapport with them. The only snag in their perfect relationship was that she had to go back to England for the summer to get her student visa renewed. Unfortunately, Anna made the mistake of allowing her visa to lapse and now she has been banned from coming back into the U.S. As the next few years go by, their relationship had hit many career changes, government speed bumps and other people. Can they make it work despite the odds against them?

In terms of plot, Like Crazy had a decent amount of material to choose from, but it got lost in the pacing and a lack of concrete definition of time. The audience truly had no idea how much time had passed since the start of Anna and Jacob’s relationship to the end of the film, until it was briefly told in passing. When it was revealed, it understandably threw the audience for a loop. The movie’s organic feel would’ve been better served if a timeline was more established and the story didn’t feel so rushed at the time. A ninety minute running time was too short to fully tell the couple’s story. This also short changed a supporting role from Jennifer Lawrence as Jacob’s other girlfriend. She had very little to do, except look at Yelchin adoringly and be oblivious to his true feelings.

In terms of chemistry, Yelchin and Jones had a believable rapport as a young couple in love and confused when the odds turned against them. Jones’ breakthrough performance as the winsome and romantic Anna will likely open many new acting doors for her. It should be interesting to see what her next film project will be. Despite the flawed ending, the film’s organic tone made the love story feel genuine and realistic that the lovebirds would feel disconnected after the amount of time they spent apart. Crazy demonstrated that not all love stories needed a clear cut happy ending, but an ending would’ve been nice in itself. The last scene left a sour taste in the audience’s mouth that couldn’t easily be erased.

Verdict: An organic love story that was almost perfect, except for a lack of a clear timeline.

DVD Score: 4 out of 5 stars

Movie Rating: PG-13

Score Chart
1 Star (Mediocre)
2 Stars (Averagely Entertaining)
3 Stars (Decent Enough to Pass Muster)
4 Stars (Near Perfect)
5 Stars (Gold Standard)