It tells the story of Zac, a young gay man dealing with homophobia while growing up with four brothers and his father in Quebec during the 1960s and 1970s.

The film employs an extensive soundtrack, featuring artists such as David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Patsy Cline, Charles Aznavour, and The Rolling Stones.

Born on Christmas in 1960, Zac is one of four and later five brothers: bookish Christian, rebellious Raymond, sporty, flatulent Antoine and then Yvan.

He has a special relationship with his father Gervais, but things began to fall apart as Zac's non-masculine ways start to show.

Their unique relationship officially ends when Gervais comes home to find Zac dressed in his mother's clothes.

The therapist's conclusion is that Zac made "a subconscious deliberate mistake", intentionally doing it so that Gervais would catch him and find out he was "gay".

Zac returns home to find his second eldest brother hospitalized after a heroin overdose; he dies the next day.

Ten years after his brother's death, Zac narrates that Gervais "had become my father once more", even to the point of allowing his lover into his house.

Director Jean-Marc Vallée conceived of the film when he and his wife met François Boulay while staying in a cottage in the Eastern Townships, Quebec.

[7] The scenes set in Jerusalem were filmed in Essaouira, Morocco, with the sand located one kilometre from the city being employed for desert shots.

[12] Period music is an important element of the film, highlighting characters and recurrent themes and events in Zac's coming of age.

[9][13] The soundtrack includes songs by Pink Floyd ("Shine On You Crazy Diamond," "The Great Gig in the Sky"), The Rolling Stones ("Sympathy for the Devil"), David Bowie ("Space Oddity"), Jefferson Airplane ("White Rabbit"), The Cure ("10:15 Saturday Night"), Giorgio Moroder ("From Here to Eternity"), Elvis Presley ("Santa Claus Is Back in Town"), and many others.

The title derives from the first letter in the names of the five brothers: Christian, Raymond, Antoine, Zachary and Yvan,[2] and also refers to their father's abiding love of Patsy Cline's song "Crazy", which itself is used as a recurring motif in the film.

[16] It was also added to Quebecor's streaming platform QUB in 2021, and reentered the Canadian box office charts in the winter of 2022.

[20] By October 2005, the film made nearly $6 million in Quebec theatres, placing second in the summer season provincial box office to Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

The website's critics consensus reads, "Balancing heart and humor against outstanding work from a talented cast, C.R.A.Z.Y.

[27] In Exclaim!, Allan Tong praised it as "a funny, infectious ride through Quebecois pop culture of the '60s and '70s", and honest with vitality.

[28] Liz Beardsworth from Empire positively reviewed the film for its acting, citing Marc-Andre Grondin and Michel Coté, and wit.

[29] Jay Weissberg from Variety declared it a "bouncy coming-of-age tale" with great music and capable performances from Cote and Grondin.