Steve Carell “Never Liked” This One Thing About His 10/10 Film

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Published Mar 15, 2026, 7:44 AM EDT

Emma Keates decided she wanted to be a TV writer when she hit publish on her first post on the Lost forums in middle school, and she hasn't looked back since. She earned an M.A. in Cultural Reporting and Criticism from NYU in 2022, and wrote for The A.V. Club for three years before joining the Collider team.

In her free time, you can find Emma binging classic sci-fi and horror films (she'll talk your ear off about anything involving time travel), watching the latest Mike Flanagan series, or listening to Hayley Williams and The National.

There's been no shortage of great romantic comedies over the past two decades, but there's only one that's so good it's like it's photoshopped. We're talking about Crazy, Stupid, Love, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this summer. There's a lot to love about the Glenn Ficarra and John Requa-directed rom-com. The film features top-tier performances from comedy heavyweights like Steve Carell, Emma Stone, Julianne Moore, Marisa Tomei, and Ryan Gosling (in peak himbo mode), as well as some memorable cameos from Josh Groban and Kevin Bacon. It also builds to one of the greatest scenes in any rom-com period, as the film's several disparate storylines converge in hilarious and chaotic fashion. Did someone say "David Lindhagen"?

Despite the film's strengths, however, it isn't quite as flawless as Stone's character finds Gosling's abs. In a recent interview, Carell said he took issue with one major aspect of Crazy, Stupid, Love. At least he didn't end up throwing any punches over it (well, as far as we know), but it sounds like it took the Rooster actor a while to fall in love with this one part of the film he initially found stupid.

What Was Steve Carell's Problem With 'Crazy, Stupid, Love'?

15 years later, the name Crazy, Stupid, Love has become a staple of the rom-com canon. It does perfectly sum up the film, which follows a group of suburbanites of all ages as they navigate love, parenthood, and divorce, and do a lot of crazy, stupid things in the process. Speaking with Entertainment Tonight at the premiere of his new HBO comedy series, Rooster, however, Carell admitted that he "never liked that title."

"I do now, but when Dan Fogelman wrote it, he didn't title it," Carell continued. "He didn't call it anything. It was 'Untitled Dan Fogelman Project.'" While 'Untitled Dan Fogelman project' wouldn't have been a great final title either, Carell went on to explain that at the time, everyone on set had "an idea as to what the title should be," but no one could agree on exactly the right thing. "So finally, Warner Brothers just said, 'We're calling it Crazy, Stupid, Love,'" the actor recalled. "I was like, 'Eh, alright.'" As the movie itself demonstrates, sometimes it takes a while to recognize a good thing even when it's right in front of you.

Jim Carrey, as Truman Burbank, smiling against a blue sky in The Truman Show.

There Are Still a Lot of Things To Like About 'Crazy, Stupid, Love'

In the same Entertainment Tonight interview, Carell said, "I'm convinced that if it's good and people like it, people will like the title. Doesn't even matter what you call it." Crazy, Stupid, Love certainly proves this theory. Back in 2011, the film made $145 million worldwide on a reported $50 million budget, and it currently holds an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film also regularly finds its way onto "Best Romantic Comedies" lists, including Collider's own "The 10 Best Romantic Comedies of the 2010s, Ranked." The chemistry among its entire ensemble cast — especially Stone and Gosling — is palpable, and it features some great quips beyond just the famous "it's like you're photoshopped" line. (Gosling's "Are people still saying bang?" is a particular standout, as well as the scenes where he insists on slapping Carell's character in the face.)

Carell has had some great things to say about the movie over the years as well. The actor lauded Crazy, Stupid, Love's script in an interview with Collider around the time of the film's release, calling it "great" and "inventive" because it "took a subject matter that’s well tread and... took a different spin on it." He also said he appreciated the story for being "very real, and very human, and funny at the same time." Even when they're doing ridiculous things like trying to beat each other up with a windmill blade ripped off a homemade mini golf course, the film's characters remain well-realized, sympathetic, and (almost) entirely relatable. Even if you agree with Carell that the title is a little silly, you shouldn't let that stop you from experiencing this genuine delight of a film. Crazy, Stupid, Love is currently available to stream on both Netflix and HBO Max.