Stuck in love (Greg Kinnear)

(Amazon UK link)

We first watched the DVD of the 2012 film ‘Stuck in love’ in 2015. Neither of us had any memory of it, either before deciding to rewatch, or during the film itself. And during the first twenty minutes or so, I wondered why we had kept it - it didn’t seem either romantic or humorous, but rather sordid and depressing.

Greg Kinnear plays the main character, and is excellent as the middle-aged divorced Bill. He is a writer, and has two teenage children. Samantha (Lily Collins) is at university, and is a writer too. Bill’s son Rusty (Nat Wolff) is still at High School and must be about fifteen or sixteen. We first meet them at a Thanksgiving meal which Bill is hosting. He’s set the table for four, and while his children roll their eyes a bit, he is adamant that their mother will return despite her having left him three years earlier.

Rusty then goes to see his mother Erica (Jennifer Connelly) and her new partner. It’s clear that she and Samantha are estranged - Sam refuses to speak to her mother, blaming her for everything. Bill is obsessed with Erica, sometimes sneaking around her house and peeping in windows. 

Bill tells Rusty he needs to get more life experiences to be a good writer, and Rusty takes this to heart - and there are scenes of drug-taking, drinking, partying, fist fighting and more. Nothing too explicit, but there’s a lot of casually-used ‘strong’ language that felt entirely unnecessary. 

The story takes place over the course of a year, and after the first half hour or so I found myself quite engrossed in the plot. Bill seems a bit irritating, living in the past - albeit sleeping with his married neighbour, who seems keener than he is. He can’t let go of Erica and says he won’t fall in love again. He isn’t even writing despite having published several books. 

Samantha is evidently somewhat promiscuous but is gently befriended and wooed by a likeable boy in one of her university classes called Louis (Logan Lerman). And Rusty is very keen on a girl at his school called Kate… it turns out she’s not just far more experienced sexually than he is, she has a lot of other problems too.

It’s really a story about people, each one learning a bit more about themselves. Bill is challenged to start moving on with his life. Samantha, who thinks she has given up on love, discovers there are more kinds of love than she had realised. Rusty realises that life outside the home can be dangerous and stressful, and that hearts can be broken.

We didn’t think there was anything funny in this film, and not a lot of real romance either. It’s more a drama than a rom-com, in my view. But it’s all very well done (other than the extreme bad language early on). There’s nothing explicit although there’s a lot that’s implied, and I’m not surprised that it’s rated 15. 

The year comes full circle. Rusty has an astonishing phone call relating to one of his short stories, and at the end we see the family meeting again for Thanksgiving, mirroring the start of the movie, and giving an encouraging, positive ending for several people.

I was surprised at just how many songs were included as background in the film; I had only noticed a couple, when they were part of the storyline. But it felt as if the pace was good, and the music must have been just right if it was so unmemorable. The acting is excellent throughout. 

So overall I think it was well worth watching, but I can’t really recommend it due to all the casual swearing, and the somewhat sordid opening scenes.

Review copyright 2025 Sue's DVD Reviews