Stuck in Love

Stuck in Love is a 2012 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Josh Boone in his directorial debut. The independent film stars Jennifer Connelly, Greg Kinnear, Lily Collins, Nat Wolff, and Logan Lerman. It focuses on the complicated relationships between a successful novelist, played by Kinnear, his ex-wife (Connelly), their college daughter (Collins), and teenage son (Wolff).[2] The film began a limited theatrical release in the United States on July 5, 2013.

For the song by The Judds, see Stuck in Love (song).
Stuck in Love
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJosh Boone
Produced byJudy Cairo
Written byJosh Boone
Starring
Music by
CinematographyTim Orr
Edited byRobb Sullivan
Production
company
  • Informant Media
  • MICA Entertainment
Distributed byMillennium Entertainment
Release date
  • September 9, 2012 (2012-09-09) (TIFF)
  • July 5, 2013 (2013-07-05) (US)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$977,671[1]

Plot

Novelist and part-time teacher Bill Borgens (Greg Kinnear) has been floundering since his wife Erica (Jennifer Connelly) left him for a younger man two years ago. Instead of working on a new book, he spies on Erica and her new husband Martin while pretending to be jogging. Bill's son Rusty (Nat Wolff) is a high school student in love with a classmate named Kate but lacks the courage to talk to her. Bill's daughter Sam (Lily Collins) is a cynical college student who prefers one-night stands and hook-ups with people she knows are less intelligent than herself, in order to shield herself from love.

On Thanksgiving, Bill has a reluctant Rusty set a place for Erica. At dinner, Sam announces that her first novel has been accepted for publication. Bill, having raised his children to be writers from birth, is thrilled, but becomes annoyed when she admits the book is not the one he had been helping her write. Rusty goes to have Thanksgiving with Erica and Martin, but Sam refuses, citing Erica's betrayal of Bill.

While at a bar, Sam's classmate Lou (Logan Lerman) tries to prevent her from initiating another hook-up. Despite being rebuffed, he continues to pursue her and eventually strong-arms her into a cup of coffee. While discussing their favorite books, Sam is unnerved by their similar tastes in literature and runs off, refusing to be roped into a relationship. When Lou stops coming to the writing seminar they both attend, Sam tracks him down to the house where he takes care of his mother, who is dying. Sam is humbled by this and agrees to go out with Lou. When they discuss Sam's novel she reveals that a scene in which the main character sees her mother having sex with a man on the beach was about Erica and Martin. When Martin worried if Bill might see them, Erica replied, "I don't care." While listening to Lou's favorite song, Between the Bars by Elliott Smith, Sam begins to cry, afraid of being hurt. Lou tells her he won't hurt her, and they share a kiss.

Rusty reads a poem in class about an angel. Bill reads Rusty's journal, which he has paid both Sam and Rusty to keep over the years. When Rusty catches him, Bill says that Rusty needs to really experience life in order to become a better writer. Rusty and his friend Jason bribe their way into a party held by Kate's boyfriend, Glen. Rusty inadvertently sees Kate and Glen doing cocaine in the bathroom, leaving him dispirited. He and Jason are about to leave when they witness Kate and Glen arguing; when Glen shoves Kate to the ground, Rusty punches him in the face and flees with Kate and Jason. Since Kate can't go home bruised and high, Rusty brings her to his house. While tucking her into bed, she asks Rusty if his angel poem was about her; he admits it was. They share a kiss and begin a relationship. On Christmas Day they have sex in his closet, which she believes neither of them will forget (as it is Rusty's first time). Rusty, inspired by Kate's cocaine use, gives her a copy of It, his favorite novel, and she gives him her favorite album. At the same time Kate struggles with her drug addiction; while visiting Erica's house, she rifles through a medicine cabinet and is on the verge of stealing prescription drugs when Erica walks in on her.

Bill has regular sexual liaisons with his married neighbor, Tricia (Kristen Bell), with whom he occasionally jogs. However, he continues to mope over his failed marriage. While Christmas shopping he runs into Erica and they talk over coffee. He tells her that, if given a second chance, he would be a much better husband, leaving Erica visibly uneasy. Tricia urges him to move on and begin dating again, helping him dress better and creating an online dating profile. After going on a somewhat successful date, he stops by Erica's house and peeks in her window. Seeing her read a book, he leaves his wedding ring as a sign that he has moved on. However, he does a double take and realizes she is reading one of his own books. Heartened, he takes back his ring.

Sam has a party for the launch of her book, where Bill makes a speech about the process of writing, quoting What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, his favorite book. Erica is invited by Lou, but is clearly uncomfortable and avoids conversation. Bill encourages her to talk to Sam, who pretends not to know her when signing Erica's copy of her novel. When Sam gives Kate champagne—unaware of Kate's addiction and ignoring the fact that she's underage—Kate goes back for more and eventually goes home with Gus, one of Sam's classmates. The Borgens track her down; Bill and Erica barge into Gus's apartment and find her asleep in his bedroom after a night of drinking and doing drugs. As Kate is loaded into the car, Rusty lifts the blanket covering her and realizes she had sex with Gus, which leaves him in tears.

Heartbroken, Rusty turns to alcohol and comes home drunk almost every night. While at a convenience store with Jason he runs into Glen, who chases down and beats him. Kate writes Rusty a letter apologizing and telling him she's in rehab, having realized the only person who could truly fix her is herself. She hopes that one day she could be worthy of somebody like him. Bill, worried about Rusty, tells him to channel his pain into his writing. Rusty asks if he did the same when Erica left, prompting Bill to ground him. Rusty writes a story entitled "I've Just Seen A Face" (after the Beatles song of the same name, which he told Sam he hears when thinking of Kate) and finds it therapeutic. Later, he gets a call from Stephen King, his favorite author, who tells him that Sam sent his story to King, who had it published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

Bill reveals to Sam that he walked out on Erica when Sam was a baby, and that when he came back six months later she accepted him, having waited the whole time. He promised that if she ever left him, he'd give her a second chance. When Lou's mother dies, Sam realizes how much her mother means to her and they tearfully reconcile. A year later, Bill shows he's moved on from Erica by not setting a place for her at the table for Thanksgiving. As the family sits down to eat, joined by Lou, Erica arrives and tearfully asks if there is a place for her. She joins them at the table and Rusty announces his story is being published. While the family celebrates, Bill again quotes from What We Talk About When We Talk About Love: "I could hear my heart beating. I could hear everyone's heart. I could hear the human noise we sat there making, not one of us moving, not even when the room went dark."

Cast

Production

Stuck in Love started shooting in Wilmington, North Carolina in March 2012, primarily in the Wrightsville Beach area.[3] Filming wrapped on April 6, 2012.[4]

On March 6, 2012, it was announced that Lily Collins, Logan Lerman, Liana Liberato, Nat Wolff and Kristen Bell had joined the cast. It was also announced that the film would feature a cameo from Stephen King, as well as actors Rusty Joiner and Patrick Schwarzenegger in supporting roles.[5] In November, the working title of the movie, Writers, was changed to Stuck in Love. In Australia and New Zealand it was released under the title A Place For Me and distributed by Becker Film Group.[6]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 57% based on 44 reviews, with an average rating of 5.78/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "It struggles to enliven its uneven script, but Stuck in Love boasts enough winning performances from its solid veteran cast to offer an appealing diversion for rom-com enthusiasts."[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[8]

Soundtrack

Varèse Sarabande released the Stuck in Love – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack digitally on May 21 and on CD and vinyl June 11, 2013. The soundtrack features an original score by Mike Mogis and Nathaniel Walcott (from Bright Eyes), and new songs "At Your Door" (by Mike Mogis and Nathaniel Walcott featuring Big Harp), "You Are Your Mother's Child" (by Conor Oberst) and "Somersaults in Spring" (by Friends of Gemini: Corina Figueroa Escamilla, Nathaniel Walcott and Mike Mogis). Complete song track listing:

  1. "Home" • Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
  2. "At Your Door" • Nathaniel Walcott and Mike Mogis featuring Big Harp
  3. "You Are Your Mother's Child" • Conor Oberst
  4. "American Man" • Rio Bravo
  5. "Polkadot" • Like Pioneers
  6. "Will You Be by Me" • Wallpaper Airplanes
  7. "I Won't Love You Any Less" • Nat & Alex Wolff
  8. "Between the Bars" • Elliott Smith
  9. "The Calendar Hung Itself..." • Bright Eyes
  10. "A Mountain, a Peak" • Bill Ricchini
  11. "Somersaults in Spring" • Friends of Gemini
  12. "Beach Baby" • Bon Iver

References
  1. "Stuck in Love (2013)". Box Office Mojo. 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  2. Kilday, Gregg (January 26, 2012). "Greg Kinnear and Jennifer Connelly to Star in 'Writers'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  3. Royal, Judy (February 5, 2012). "Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly headed to Wilmington". Star News Online. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  4. Foss, Cassie (April 5, 2012). "As 'Writers' wraps, actors praise all involved". Star News Online. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  5. "Cast set for 'Writers'". Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  6. "Becker Film Group". Becker Film Group. Archived from the original on 2013-09-11. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  7. "Stuck in Love (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  8. "Stuck in Love Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
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