crazy love movie review

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"Crazy, Stupid, Love" is a sweet romantic comedy about good-hearted people. Imagine that. No snark. No raunch. It has a lot of cynicism, but that's employed only to be corrected. Nobody here wishes anybody ill, and the movie comes out foursquare in favor of marriage. Yes, the characters commit adultery, but they learn to their relief they were mistaken.

Much of the movie's appeal is generated by the actors. Steve Carell has been growing on me. Emma Stone is a sweetheart. Julianne Moore 's character seems cold and distant, but that's a stage she's going through. A teenage couple are cutie-pies. Marisa Tomei enters the movie as a tornado of warm comic energy. All that woman has to do is smile, and I'm there.

But the surprise is Ryan Gosling . I consider him a superb actor, and I've seen him play everything from an anti-Semite (" The Believer ") to a child killer (" Murder by Numbers ") to a man in love with a love doll (" Lars and the Real Girl "). In " Blue Valentine " (2010), he plays a not ideal husband. But I didn't see him as a lounge lizard and pickup artist, and in "Crazy, Stupid, Love," he has as much bulls#!t as if he'd been Zach Galifianakis all of his life.

The movie opens with a bombshell. Cal (Steve Carell) asks his wife Emily (Julianne Moore) what she wants for dessert. "A divorce," she says. Cal, who has grown complacent in his marriage, is stunned. So are his kids, especially 13-year-old Robbie ( Jonah Bobo ), who has a crush on Jessica ( Analeigh Tipton ), his 17-year-old baby-sitter.

Cal seeks to assuage his sorrow in an upscale cocktail lounge with an improbable variety of babes and finds himself noticing the smooth moves of a ladykiller named Jacob (Ryan Gosling). This guy seems to leave every night with the woman of his choice. Jacob observes Cal's morose presence at the bar, overhears his bitter monologues and insists on giving him some tips. This leads to lectures on pickup techniques and one of those makeover montages in which Cal acquires correct shoes, shirts, suits and a haircut. Emily, I neglected to say, has been fooling around with a guy at work ( Kevin Bacon in his slightly snaky mode). Not much is made of this; we're spared the sight of Emily being tender with him, because that would throw off the gradually developing logic of the movie.

So, OK. We have two generations seeking success in love. Robbie does a winsomely good job of pining hopelessly for Jessica, who has set her sights a little higher. Cal, meanwhile, takes advantage of Jacob's coaching to score sensationally with Kate (Marisa Tomei), an energetic, recovering alcoholic who is a sexual virtuoso. And then something happens that Jacob did not anticipate: In the bar one night, he meets the lovely Hannah (Emma Stone) and does something he didn't think he was capable of. He falls in love.

These many strands are woven together in a clever screenplay by Dan Fogelman that establishes what is needed, conceals what is required, supplies Carell with a one-liner about Tomei that brings down the house and springs some OMG! moments.

All of that is the mechanism. What is also nice is the feeling. No one is hateful in this movie. Even Kevin Bacon, as the ominous marriage-wrecker David Lindhagen, wishes no ill. Emily was apparently seducible, so how much can we blame him? The major characters all persevere in the faith that for every person there is One True Love, and when you meet that person, your quest is at an end — always assuming, of course, that your love is returned. Sometimes baby-sitters four years older than you don't get in the spirit.

The strength of the movie, however formulaic its structure, is that it is slightly more thoughtful about its characters. It's not deep, mind you, but it considers their problems as more than fodder for comedy. It allows them to have real feelings, even some that surprise them, and it leaves them some room for growth. At the end, after as many strands have been brought together as seems possible, I felt an undeniable satisfaction.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

Rated PG-13

118 minutes

Joey King as Molly

Julianne Moore as Emily

Beth Littleford as Claire

Kevin Bacon as Lindhagen

Marisa Tomei as Kate

Ryan Gosling as Jacob

Steve Carell as Cal

Analeigh Tipton as Jessica

Jonah Bobo as Robbie

John Carroll Lynch as Bernie

Emma Stone as Hannah

Directed by

• Glenn Ficarra
• Dan Fogelman

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Crazy Love Review

01 Jan 1987

Though its episodes follow one character through three stages of his life, this adaptation of stories by Charles Bukowski feels stubbornly like three short films stuck together, one of which is a good deal better than the other two.

The lesser episodes are the first, a Fellini-esque tale of a child captivated by a busty redhead at a funfair in 1955, and the third, set in 1975 when the hero has grown into a drunk with necrophile tendencies. The middle section, set in 1962, is a remarkably affecting and unsettling high school freak story in which the main character suffers from a case of acne that makes him more unsettling to look at than the Elephant Man but manages a modest triumph when he turns up at the school prom to impress the object of his affections by mummifying his Frankensteinian features with toilet paper.

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Crazy, stupid, love., common sense media reviewers.

Heartfelt dramedy has strong story and characters.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

The movie's key message is that relationships

Though they're very different, Cal and Jacob f

A man lunges at his friend and attempts to knock h

Couples are shown flirting, kissing, straddling ea

A fair amount of crass language and swearing, incl

Some logos/brands are name-dropped or shown onscre

Lots of social drinking at bars and restaurants, s

Parents need to know that this affecting, refreshing dramedy about a man re-entering the dating life after decades and finding himself in the process deals head-on with some mature subjects, including infidelity and the art of seduction. Plenty of scenes show a guy teaching another how to pick up women and then…

Positive Messages

The movie's key message is that relationships are living, breathing things that require tending to thrive. Also, you need to take care of yourself first before you can truly care for others.

Positive Role Models

Though they're very different, Cal and Jacob form a deep friendship and are loyal to each other.

Violence & Scariness

A man lunges at his friend and attempts to knock him down; he's oblivious to the chaos that ensues.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Couples are shown flirting, kissing, straddling each other (no nudity), making out heavily in bed, and discussing how they'll have sex. Some couplings are played for laughs. A teenager takes risqué pictures of herself to print and give to someone else.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

A fair amount of crass language and swearing, including "s--t," one "f--k," "ball sack," "a--hole," "bang," "d--k," "crap," "hell," "damn," and "oh my God."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Some logos/brands are name-dropped or shown onscreen, including Google, AMC, Borders, Sbarro, and Macy's. One character believes that it's important to dress well and invest in luxury products to feel good about yourself (or at least help you get there).

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Lots of social drinking at bars and restaurants, sometimes to buzzy excess; one character emboldens herself by drinking before hitting on a guy.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this affecting, refreshing dramedy about a man re-entering the dating life after decades and finding himself in the process deals head-on with some mature subjects, including infidelity and the art of seduction. Plenty of scenes show a guy teaching another how to pick up women and then actually doing so. That said, the actual sex scenes, which involve no nudity beyond a guy taking his shirt off and clothed couples kissing and straddling each other, are fairly tame. There's also a fair bit of social drinking and swearing (including "f--k" and "s--t"), and a teen character takes risqué pictures of herself. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (15)
• Kids say (35)

Based on 15 parent reviews

PG-13, Really?

What's the story.

Cal Weaver ( Steve Carell ) has been in love with his wife, Emily ( Julianne Moore ), since high school, marrying her at 17. So it's no understatement to say that his world falls to pieces when she declares over dinner at a restaurant that she has strayed and thinks she wants a divorce. Cal has no idea how to be single, spending his first few weeks perched on a bar stool at a nightclub he'd passed many times but never had the guts to enter. The entire scene is foreign to him ... until confident Jacob Palmer ( Ryan Gosling ), a certified womanizer who can persuade almost any girl to go home with him, takes Cal under his wing and decides to teach him how to take interest in both himself and other women. But even Jacob isn't immune to the charms of that someone special -- in this case, Hannah ( Emma Stone ), on whom his usual approach doesn't seem to work. Meanwhile, Cal's 13-year-old son ( Jonah Bobo ) is in love with his 17-year-old babysitter (Annaleigh Tipton), who happens to be smitten with Cal.

Is It Any Good?

CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE is surprising, engaging, and astute about humans and relationships and nearly everything else that matters. And that's despite the fact that it hews fairly closely to romcom and buddy comedy conventions; it's both, with a huge heaping of drama, too. Carrell and Gosling are fantastic; neither overplays or underplays. Instead, they seem genuinely comfortable in their movie skins, living their roles rather than "acting" them. (It's nice to see Gosling act hilarious for a change.)

Actually, the entire cast is strong, notably Moore as a genuinely bereft, confused, searching woman who has grown tired of the routine but doesn't quite know how to fix it, and Stone, who sells her character with ease -- she's truly gifted. The best part, however, is the story itself. It's finely attuned to the ways in which complacency erodes our confidence and strips us of the urge to learn and discover. Being stuck in one place too long can doom marriages -- and ourselves.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how the movie portrays marriage problems. Is it realistic or "Hollywoodized"? How do problems between spouses affect a family?

Why is Jacob's seduction formula so successful? Does the movie glamorize this, or is it making a statement about such trickery?

A teen character takes some racy pictures of herself. What are the real-life consequences of that kind of action? Parents, talk to your kids about sexting and other potentially inappropriate behavior.

Movie Details

• In theaters : July 29, 2011
• On DVD or streaming : November 1, 2011
• Cast : Emma Stone , Julianne Moore , Ryan Gosling , Steve Carell
• Directors : Glenn Ficarra , John Requa
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Warner Bros.
• Genre : Drama
• Run time : 107 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : coarse humor, sexual content and language
• Last updated : March 7, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Crazy, Stupid, Love – review

T he three-strand multi-generational romcom can be a cumbersome beastie. And there is something slightly puffy about this ensemble effort that ties its strands together a touch too tightly two-thirds of the way through but still leaves enough hanging at the end to be credible. For the oldsters, we have Steve Carrell and Julianne Moore , splitting up after 25 years because she's slept with Kevin Bacon and he's gone dull. For the 20-somethings: Ryan Gosling, ripped and slick as a ladies man who coaches Carrell in the art of the pick-up before himself falling hard for Emma Stone. And for the teens, a tedious thread involving Carrell and Moore's son, who has a crush on the babysitter, who in turn fancies dad. This is airbrushed relationship angst, for which there's definitely a time and a market, but the general blandness does make those flashes of real spike and anger (mostly involving Marisa Tomei's erratic teacher) zing like booze-soaked currants in a bun.

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Love Lies Bleeding – Movie Review (3/5)

Posted by Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard | May 1, 2024 | 4 minutes

LOVE LIES BLEEDING is a crime thriller by the amazing filmmaker Rose Glass. The movie stars Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian while the plot is an action-fueled crazy and steamy wild ride. Read our full Love Lies Bleeding  movie review here!

LOVE LIES BLEEDING is a movie by Rose Glass and this immediately led me to have extremely great expectations. So much that I am afraid I may have ruined it a little bit for myself. After all, I also love both Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian, who star in this movie,  and  I’m a gay girl.

So I’ll do my best to put this aside and focus on the actual movie rather than my expectations. Fortunately, I am more than capable of seeing the many qualities of this movie. It definitely is a crazy ride with a wild ending!

Continue reading our Love Lies Bleeding  movie review below. It’s out on VOD from April 26, 2024.

A different kind of love story

Love Lies Bleeding  may be an action-fueled crazy crime thriller but it’s also a very simple love story. In fact, maybe it’s even too simple for me in the sense that it moves too fast. I admit I can be difficult in that sense. Woo me a little, would ya?!

But this movie is not that kind of story.

Hell, the world it plays out in doesn’t have room for any of that.

It’s a lot more to the point and extreme. Also, it takes place in the final days of the 1980s.

We meet the reclusive gym manager, Lou (Kristen Stewart) who falls hard for Jackie (Katy O’Brian). We don’t know much about Jackie, who has just arrived in town. However, she is clearly an ambitious bodybuilder and we quickly come to learn that she is heading to Las Vegas to win a bodybuilding competition.

The step after that is Hollywood. In Jackie’s mind, anyway. Lou is crazy about Jackie, so she’s quick to offer a little needle and some “gym candy” to help Jackie get bigger. Fast. Once Lou starts shooting up Jackie with roids , there are some side effects as well.

This combined with everything else going on in the small town, run by Lou’s criminal family, results in their love igniting violence. Even murder!

Not for the male gaze

For  Love Lies Bleeding , we’re getting a very different kind of love story. One that is electric with an attraction between characters that can be felt through the screen. Yes, Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian were definitely perfect casting choices for this one. From the second their eyes meet, you should be able to recognize the sparks flying.

The scenes between these two were clearly not created for the male gaze. I know many hear “lesbians” and think it’s to get the straight male audience to tune in. Well, Love Lies Bleeding was not built for this. Hell, I think many straight men will have a hard time even wrapping their minds around what goes where and why. But maybe I’m wrong about that.

Still, getting Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian to portray these characters – both are LGBTQ – should tell you something. They  know  what they’re doing.

Hell, the entire cast was brilliant with Jena Malone as the sister of Kristen Stewart’s character. Also, Dave Franco as the abusive husband of Jena Malone’s character was a solid choice. As was, of course, Ed Harris as the father of the two sisters. His character is a criminal who has no conscience, it seems, and will stop at nothing.

Including not stepping in when his son-in-law, who works for him, is constantly beating up his own daughter. Oh yeah, it is a damn dark world, we’re introduced to in  Love Lies Bleeding . Everyone is both good and bad. There are no exceptions really, and this is exactly what I love about i.e. South Korean storytelling.

Watch Love Lies Bleeding on VOD now!

Rose Glass is the director of this movie and I adored her previous movie Saint Maud  (2019) . That one hit me in a way that few movies do, which is why my expectations for  Love Lies Bleeding  were probably out of wack. For this new movie, Rose Glass co-wrote the screenplay with Weronika Tofilska , who worked on  Baby Reindeer most recently (as a director).

Everything about this movie seemed tailor-made for me; A wild genre-hybrid by a filmmaker I adore and with a cast full of actors I love. What could go wrong? Well, I can’t claim that anything did go wrong, but I just expected something different, which did affect my film-watching experience.

Having said all this, I would recommend it to everyone who likes genre hybrids. Especially anyone who also loves it when a movie evolves in crazy ways that go above and beyond what you’d expect.

LOVE LIES BLEEDING is out on VOD from April 26, 2024.

Director: Rose Glass Writers: Rose Glass and Weronika Tofilska Cast: Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brian, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov, Dave Franco, Ed Harris

From Director Rose Glass comes an electric new love story; reclusive gym manager Lou falls hard for Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family.

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About The Author

Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!

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12 movies like ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’

T here is a litany of great romance films out in the world, and there are also great family dramas and comedies as well, but one film that does a great job fitting into all three genres is the 2011 film Crazy, Stupid, Love . With a stellar cast and a great premise, plus a twist at the end that no one saw coming, the film is a standout even now, more than a decade on.

What is Crazy, Stupid, Love about?

The film is composed of a phenomenal ensemble cast, with Steve Carell , Julianne Moore, Emma Stone , and Ryan Gosling in lead roles, you also have great characters from younger talent in the form of Jonah Bobo and Lio Tipton including some appearances from the fantastic Kevin Bacon.

Crazy, Stupid, Love immediately introduces us to characters who are already living their lives, Cal (Carell) and Emily Weaver (Moore) have been married for some time and are on a date night, and Hannah (Stone) is out with a friend taking a quick break from studying to be a lawyer, Jacob (Gosling) is at the bar hitting on women which we observe is a regular thing for him, and Robbie (Bobo) is admitting from the outset his love for his older babysitter Jessica (Tipton).

The film wastes no time in throwing us right into the story with Emily announcing she wants a divorce only a minute into the story. From there we see the highs and lows of relationships, both romantic and familial, we see how love is tested, how it can grow, and the importance of self-love as well. The film then also reveals near the end that the separate storylines are also not as separate as we had been led to believe, tying everything together is a rather wonderful, if complicated, bow.

The film is well-loved by fans of the genre, with great chemistry to be had between the actors, truly heartwarming moments as well as some legitimate laughs, as well as a guy finally getting a makeover rather than a woman for once! But if you’ve watched it a thousand times and are wondering “What else is out there that can scratch this itch?” then here are twelve films you might enjoy.

No Strings Attached

A great romantic comedy to watch after Crazy, Stupid, Love is No Strings Attached . The movie follows two lifelong friends named Emma and Adam who decide to take their platonic relationship to a physical one. They are afraid of ruining their friendship, though, so the two decide to make a pact that things will simply remain physical. Their only goal is to not fall in love, but obviously, this is not easy.

Starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher, this movie will have you laughing, smiling, and crying – just like Crazy, Stupid, Love .

The Vow stars Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum, who play happy newlyweds named Paige and Leo. Unfortunately, their life gets turned upside down when Paige gets in a horrible car accident that leaves her without her memory. She can’t remember Leo and feels something for a former fiance, which only serves to complicate things. Despite all of this, Leo is determined to remind her of their love story and rebuild what they once had.

Like Crazy, Stupid, Love , the characters have incredible chemistry that makes the movie a memorable one.

Love Actually

If you are a fan of an ensemble piece where things are all interconnected then Love Actually is probably one of the best films within the rom-com genre that does this. The film is uplifting and hopeful and balances corniness with real depth at times as well (something the Hollywood attempts failed at).

Much like Crazy, Stupid, Love we see relationships at all different stages, from young love, to love breaking apart. It is a classic at any time of the year, though is usually best enjoyed around Christmas.

If you loved Stone and Gosling’s chemistry in Crazy, Stupid, Love then you should really watch them in La La Land . The film may be a musical, and it may have extreme dance numbers and aerial acrobatics, but the heart of it is the relationship between the two characters. The film is beautiful, and crushing at the same time, proving that sometimes love isn’t always enough.

Their relationship in Crazy, Stupid, Love only really came in at the end, and it was beautiful to watch, so here you get to see them really interact and work opposite one another. Both were great in La La Land with Stone even winning the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance.

Definitely, Maybe

One of the things that really ground Crazy, Stupid, Love in a sense of realism was the fact that it really portrayed the struggles of relationships. Definitely, Maybe is another film that works well in this aspect, as we see Will Hayes telling his daughter about his past relationships as she tries to guess which one of his past great loves is her mother, keeping the audience guessing and allowing a reveal at the end much like Crazy, Stupid, Love .

Through the lens of “look, relationships are hard, and sometimes they don’t always work,” Definitely, Maybe is a great film. That and we also have another romantic lead played by another famous Ryan, this time in the form of Ryan Reynolds.

When Harry Met Sally

When Harry Met Sally is a classic and is a film that we will never not recommend. The story of two people, starting off as friends, growing together, challenging one another, and ultimately falling in love with one another is timeless, and this film probably does it better than any other.

Again, it is the organic nature of this film that Crazy, Stupid, Love also has, with the interactions between characters feeling genuine, leaving us wanting more.

The Kids are Alright

Featuring Julianne Moore, The Kids are Alright is less of a romance and more of a family drama/comedy. Again, there is a focus on the hardships that come with marriage, with very human mistakes being made, and seeing how a couple can work through betrayal and regret whilst trying to hold a family together.

Much like Crazy, Stupid, Love it really looks at the family dynamic during these stressful times and how forgiveness can allow us to move forward. This film was critically lauded and was nominated for Best Picture at the 2011 Academy Awards.

This film is Emma Stone’s to run away with. Easy A is a high school romantic comedy but feels new and bold in comparison to many that fall into that genre. Stone plays her role phenomenally, and with her parents played by Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson, there is definitely a wholesome family dynamic at play too.

Much how Crazy, Stupid, Love has some great supporting actors so too does Easy A , with Amanda Bynes giving a stellar performance as the devout Christian who’s just a little off her rocker. Incredibly funny with Stone at her comedic best.

Dan in Real Life

Carell is known for playing characters that are just a little bit lost and perhaps just a little bit sad, as we see him at the beginning of Crazy, Stupid, Love . In Dan in Real Life, we get to see him once again as the loving caring father who has rather stopped caring after his own needs only to realize that sometimes he needs to put himself first.

Another sweet wholesome romantic comedy with family playing a big part, this one has been recommended by many who love Crazy, Stupid, Love so go give it a try!

If you want to see a film about the comedic highs and lows of marriage and parenting then This is 40 is a great choice. Directed by Judd Apatow as a sort of sequel to Knocked Up , it looks at the pressures one may face in life as you start to enter those middling years when you have to balance romances with raising a family and holding down a career.

The humor is designed to be grounded in reality and with the great chemistry between lead actors Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann, as well as the addition of Apatow and Mann’s daughters Maude and Iris Apatow who nail their respective roles.

Love and Other Drugs

If you are looking for something light and airy this one may not be for you, but it would be a mistake to skip it all together. Much like Gosling’s character in Crazy, Stupid, Love , Jake Gyllenhaal’s character Jamie is a bit of a lothario and doesn’t really have love on his mind, that is until he meets Maggie, played by Anne Hathaway.

The two have a beautiful, sweet relationship as they struggle with Jamie’s lack of experience in the world of love and also with Maggie’s early onset Parkinsons, with these two factors often driving a wedge between the couple. It does prove though, that love is sometimes worth those hardships.

I Love You, Man

If one of your favorite parts of Crazy, Stupid, Love was the relationship between Cal and Jacob, you will probably like I Love You, Man . In this film it isn’t romance that our lead, played once again by Rudd, has any problems with, it’s that he doesn’t have any strong friendships outside of his relationship.

After some encouragement from his fiancé, he decides to go out and make a friend and here we meet the carefree, fun-loving, slightly mischievous character played by Jason Segel.

A bromance film can be just as rewarding as a romance, and this film has some classic moments within it.

So sure, go ahead and watch Crazy, Stupid, Love once again, we don’t blame you, but if you are down for a little bit of a change then maybe one of these other offerings will be right up your alley too.

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The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time. The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time. The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time.

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• Trivia Marisa Abela had done most of the singing in this film herself. She trained extensively to mimic Amy Winehouse 's vocals.

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Taylor Swift Has Given Fans a Lot. Is It Finally Too Much?

Swift has been inescapable over the last year. With the release of “The Tortured Poets Department,” her latest (very long) album, some seem to finally be feeling fatigued.

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By Matt Stevens and Shivani Gonzalez

Four new studio albums. Four rerecorded albums, too. A $1 billion oxygen-sucking world tour with a concert movie to match. And, of course, one very high-profile relationship that spilled over into the Super Bowl .

For some, the constant deluge that has peaked in the past year is starting to add up to a new (and previously unthinkable) feeling: Taylor Swift fatigue.

And it is a feeling that has only solidified online in the days following the release of “The Tortured Poets Department,” which morphed from a 16-song album into a 31-song, two-hour epic just hours after its release .

Many critics (including The New York Times’s own) have suggested that the album was overstuffed — simply not her best. And critiques of the music have now opened a sliver of space for a wider round of complaint unlike any Swift has faced over her prolific and world-conquering recent run.

“It’s almost like if you produce too much… too fast… in a brazen attempt to completely saturate and dominate a market rather than having something important or even halfway interesting to say… the art suffers!” Chris Murphy, a staff writer at Vanity Fair, posted on X .

Which is not to say nobody listened to the album; far from it. Spotify said “Poets,” which was released on Friday, became the most-streamed album in a single day with more than 300 million streams .

And of course, many of Swift’s most ardent fans, known as “Swifties,” loved her 11th album or, at least, have decided to air any reservations in private conversations. The first days of the album’s release have been greeted with the usual lyrical dissections for key allusions hidden within the songs, attention to every word that few other artists receive.

But others, including some self-identified Swift fans, have freely admitted frustration. Fans and critics alike have contended that Swift’s lyrics have become a tad verbose and that the tracks on this latest album — many of them breakup songs — sounded a whole lot like others she has already put out . The internet has also provided an almost unlimited supply of jokes about the length of the album .

Some admonished Swift for selling so many versions of “Poets” only to double its size after those orders were in, part of a cynically corporate rollout . (Care for the CD , vinyl or the Phantom Clear vinyl ?) The Daily Mail cobbled together what it deemed “The 10 WORST lyrics in Taylor Swift’s new album — ranked!”

For its part, Reductress , the satirical women’s magazine, offered a post titled “Woman Doing Her Best to Like New Taylor Swift Album Lest She Face the Consequences.”

Those who dare to publicly criticize Swift are acutely aware of the potential for backlash. Murphy, the Vanity Fair writer, made a dark joke about it . At least one X user who posted a lengthy thread eviscerating Swift, the album and its rollout took the post private after it got more than three million views. Paste Magazine opted not to put a byline on its harsh review of Swift’s album, citing safety concerns for the writer.

In an unusual twist, even Swift herself is widely viewed as admonishing her most militant defenders in one particular song on the new album, “But Daddy I Love Him.” Some contingents of Swift’s fanbase strongly disapproved of her brief relationship with Matty Healy of the 1975 and appear to now be bristling at the amount of record real estate Healy consumes on the latest album .

Weird, complicated times in Taylor land.

“It might be a tough few days for the fanbase,” Nathan Hubbard, a co-host of the Ringer podcast, “ Every Single Album ,” wrote in a social media thread about “Poets” on Friday . “They’ll hear some valid criticism they aren’t used to (if the critics dare), and for many they’ll have to reconcile their own truth that this isn’t their favorite, while still rightly celebrating it and supporting her.”

Indeed, grinding through the 31-song double album after midnight had felt like “a hostage situation,” Hubbard wrote.

On a new podcast episode, which was released over the weekend, Hubbard and his co-host, Nora Princiotti, were among those who pointed out that while the album may be imperfect, Swift simply may have needed to purge herself of the songs on “Poets” to process a turbulent time in her life.

Princiotti said she enjoyed much of the album and was careful to stipulate that “Poets” did contain several “special songs.”

But she also allowed for some “tough love.”

“Musically, I do not really hear anything new,” she said, adding that Swift “could have done a little bit more self editing.”

“I don’t think the fact that this is a double-album that is more than two hours in length serves what’s good about it,” Princiotti said. “And I think that for the second album in a row, I’m still sort of left going, ‘OK, where do we go from here?’”

Princiotti ultimately graded “Poets” a “B.” And in the world of her podcast and universe of Taylor Swift, Princiotti acknowledged — that might have been an all-time low.

An earlier version of this article misstated the title of Taylor Swift’s new album. It is “The Tortured Poets Department,” not “The Tortured Poets Society.”

How we handle corrections

Matt Stevens writes about arts and culture news for The Times. More about Matt Stevens

Shivani Gonzalez is a news assistant at The Times who writes a weekly TV column and contributes to a variety of sections. More about Shivani Gonzalez

Inside the World of Taylor Swift

A Triumph at the Grammys: Taylor Swift made history  by winning her fourth album of the year at the 2024 edition of the awards, an event that saw women take many of the top awards .

‘The T ortured Poets Department’: Poets reacted to Swift’s new album name , weighing in on the pertinent question: What do the tortured poets think ?  

In the Public Eye: The budding romance between Swift and the football player Travis Kelce created a monocultural vortex that reached its apex  at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. Ahead of kickoff, we revisited some key moments in their relationship .

Politics (Taylor’s Version): After months of anticipation, Swift made her first foray into the 2024 election for Super Tuesday with a bipartisan message on Instagram . The singer, who some believe has enough influence  to affect the result of the election , has yet to endorse a presidential candidate.

Conspiracy Theories: In recent months, conspiracy theories about Swift and her relationship with Kelce have proliferated , largely driven by supporters of former President Donald Trump . The pop star's fans are shaking them off .

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