Title: “Crazy About Her” (“Loco por ella” in Spanish)

Release date: Streaming on Netflix on Feb. 26, 2021

Directed by: Dani de la Orden

Written by: Natalia Duran, Eric Navarro

Starring: Alvaro Cervantes, Susana Abaitua, Luis Zahera, Aixa Villagran, Txell Aixendri, Nil Cardoner, Eduardo Antuna, Paula Malia, Clara Segura, Maria Ribera, Francesc Ferrer, Aaron Porras, Mireia Portas, Iris Valles Torres

Run time: 1 hour, 42 minutes

Genre: Rom-com-dram (in Spanish with English subtitles, though the pop music soundtrack is in English)

Rated: TV-MA

Where I saw it: At home on a Tuesday night, on my laptop, on Netflix, free with subscription

What it’s about: After a wild one-night stand, a young journalist (Cervantes as Adri) tracks down the woman he hooked up with (Abaitua as Carla), and when he discovers she is a patient in a psychiatric hospital, he checks himself in hoping to convince her they should be together.

What I liked about it: “Crazy About Her” is a compassionate, nuanced, often funny (but in an appropriate way) ensemble character study of those diagnosed with mental illness wrapped inside a romantic comedy. The unlikely love story is the setup (they meet at a bar, like all journalists he is jaded, she is quirky and impulsive in a manic pixie dream girl sort of way, she waves giant red flags he refuses to acknowledge, she tells him she just wants to hook up and then never see each other again, and then they have sex and then he is in looovvve) and the excuse for the happy ending everyone knows is coming, but the meat of the movie in between is where the film shines. The supporting cast is stellar. Zahera is Saul, an older man whose illnesses have separated from his now ex-wife and young daughter; Villagran is Marta, a woman with Tourette’s syndrome who is in love with fellow patient Victor (Cardoner); and Aixendri is a Tina, a woman who is convinced she is royalty. Their portrayals of the mentally ill are in the same vein as Dustin Hoffman’s Raymond Babbitt in “Rain Man” – their characters never seem to be played mockingly but with great care. Duran’s and Navarro’s script does the things a rom-com story should, but it also is dotted by tone-appropriate observations about not only those who are institutionalized but the professionals in charge of their care and the attitudes of friends, families and loved ones in dealing with the situation. Adri at first thinks he can fix Carla (such a man thing to think), whose wild mood swings are the result of severe bi-polar disorder. But he learns that acceptance and staying out the way so that professionals can help and the inflicted can work on accepting themselves is more important. That’s a powerful message for a fun rom-com movie.

What I didn’t like about it: Adri’s flippant attitude toward the mentally ill (he calls the psychiatric facility a “nut house”) can be off-putting until you realize it’s part of the setup for his education on the topic. … Even a journalist likely wouldn’t be naïve enough to think you could just check into a mental health institution (to get a woman’s phone number!) and then just check out when you please. … The character that is Adri’s clueless (he confuses “clips” for “clicks”) and inappropriate (he reminds his workers that kissing Adri on the cheek doesn’t constitute harassment, even these days) slightly older boss is a cliché and exists mostly because he oversees the office where Adri’s and Carla’s big romantic resolution scene (they’re getting together after all!) takes place.

Who it should appeal to: Young adults and 30-somethings who like rom-coms and don’t mind when they take a turn toward the serious.    

My score: 80 out of 100.