It's Complicated (B or 3/4 stars)
After having just seen Nancy Meyers' 'It's Complicated', one thing is sure in my mind - Meryl deserves to win the Best Actress Oscar this year. The woman has been nominated at least 15 times and won only twice. And if last year's Best Actress winner is any indicator - where Kate Winslet gave 2 excellent performances in 2 different movies - Meryl should be on her way. She's irresistible here (as Diane Keaton was in Meyer's Something's Gotta Give), & even better in this summer's Julie & Julia. I hope she finally gets her 3rd Oscar after what's been countless, year-after-year clinics in dramatic & comedic acting.
Rant over. Back to the movie at hand. This film is a romantic comedy. The usual formula: young woman & young man are destined for each other. Throughout the movie, they are together, apart, together, apart, etc. Most films introduce a 3rd party (male or female) as a foil to the original pairing. And this 3rd person is a road block, so to speak, until the original pairing gets back together. 'IC' inhabits most of these traits, save for a few; particularly, the ages of the 3 main characters (all are portrayed to be in their mid-late 50's; though Streep & Steve Martin are actually in their 60's) -- very refreshing. Jane (Streep) is an upper-middle class divorced baker who has finally let go of the last of her 3 children (moving out of the house). She is ready to build a dream kitchen, as well as expand on her already beautiful Santa Barbara abode. Jake (a great Alec Baldwin), Jane's amicable ex-husband & father of their children, is re-married to a young woman (who he cheated with on Jane 10 yrs. ago); but finds himself falling back in love with Jane.
The 3rd pivotal character is Jane's extremely pleasant house architect, Adam (Steve Martin); a man who is also divorced, & finds himself increasingly attracted to her. What's complicated about 'It's Complicated' is that we don't quite know til the very end if it is Jake or Adam that is the foil for Jane. The tables have turned, with Jane being the other woman - so should she be with Jake (after re-uniting for a wild, unplanned affair), or with the 3rd wheel, Adam (a seemingly perfect match on paper). If she hooks back-up with Jake, the whole family (splintered by the divorce) will be together again - making everybody happy. But it also means ripping Jake from his current family. And if Adam isn't the man for Jane ... then he isn't the man. Who will she choose, if either of them?
Though this film doesn't boast the best screenplay, Nancy Meyers does a great job showing the good & bad in both Jane & Jake. We pull for Jane because she's our bubbly protagonist who's earned her love & freedom as an independent woman by being an overwhelmingly good person. But she's also an adulterer now. As for Jake, while he's an incredibly charming & engaging person who wants another crack at 'love & marriage' with his ex, he, too is an adulterer. The only person we can have 100% empathy for is Adam; who's also been burned by past relationships. It makes for a very interesting love triangle where we're pulling for each character at various stages of the film. No matter the outcome, you're gonna feel great for 2 characters, & somewhat sad for the 3rd. And for as formulaic, cliched, & predictable as most of the individual plot points are ... it's a testament to the film that we truly can't figure out who's with who at the end.
'It's Complicated' is just a very solid romantic comedy - with moments of drama & gravitas throughout. And it's a wonderful holiday entertainment; particularly for people in the age brackets of the characters - though, my friends & I (all in our late 20's) certainly got a kick out of it. What Nancy Meyers films provide is a chance for men & women of a certain age to relate to older characters, as well as yearn to inhabit their lifestyles. Viewers either live Jane's lifestyle or aspire to.
The strengths of the film include the performances by the 3 principle characters, the abundant chemistry btwn. them, & the setting/locales/interiors (like most Meyers films, they are gorgeous; if too idealistic in their depictions. My only major complaint would be that aside from John Krasinski's priceless moments as one of Jane's daughter's beaus, no other character registers as authentic or remotely interesting. But overall, though it's far from perfect, & the movie loses some steam towards the end, I just really enjoyed spending a couple of hours with these people. I laughed a lot (great one-liners, sex scene, pot-smoking scene, nude scene, etc.). It provides a message about life & love. And simply put, I just had a good time watching it.
Rant over. Back to the movie at hand. This film is a romantic comedy. The usual formula: young woman & young man are destined for each other. Throughout the movie, they are together, apart, together, apart, etc. Most films introduce a 3rd party (male or female) as a foil to the original pairing. And this 3rd person is a road block, so to speak, until the original pairing gets back together. 'IC' inhabits most of these traits, save for a few; particularly, the ages of the 3 main characters (all are portrayed to be in their mid-late 50's; though Streep & Steve Martin are actually in their 60's) -- very refreshing. Jane (Streep) is an upper-middle class divorced baker who has finally let go of the last of her 3 children (moving out of the house). She is ready to build a dream kitchen, as well as expand on her already beautiful Santa Barbara abode. Jake (a great Alec Baldwin), Jane's amicable ex-husband & father of their children, is re-married to a young woman (who he cheated with on Jane 10 yrs. ago); but finds himself falling back in love with Jane.
The 3rd pivotal character is Jane's extremely pleasant house architect, Adam (Steve Martin); a man who is also divorced, & finds himself increasingly attracted to her. What's complicated about 'It's Complicated' is that we don't quite know til the very end if it is Jake or Adam that is the foil for Jane. The tables have turned, with Jane being the other woman - so should she be with Jake (after re-uniting for a wild, unplanned affair), or with the 3rd wheel, Adam (a seemingly perfect match on paper). If she hooks back-up with Jake, the whole family (splintered by the divorce) will be together again - making everybody happy. But it also means ripping Jake from his current family. And if Adam isn't the man for Jane ... then he isn't the man. Who will she choose, if either of them?
Though this film doesn't boast the best screenplay, Nancy Meyers does a great job showing the good & bad in both Jane & Jake. We pull for Jane because she's our bubbly protagonist who's earned her love & freedom as an independent woman by being an overwhelmingly good person. But she's also an adulterer now. As for Jake, while he's an incredibly charming & engaging person who wants another crack at 'love & marriage' with his ex, he, too is an adulterer. The only person we can have 100% empathy for is Adam; who's also been burned by past relationships. It makes for a very interesting love triangle where we're pulling for each character at various stages of the film. No matter the outcome, you're gonna feel great for 2 characters, & somewhat sad for the 3rd. And for as formulaic, cliched, & predictable as most of the individual plot points are ... it's a testament to the film that we truly can't figure out who's with who at the end.
'It's Complicated' is just a very solid romantic comedy - with moments of drama & gravitas throughout. And it's a wonderful holiday entertainment; particularly for people in the age brackets of the characters - though, my friends & I (all in our late 20's) certainly got a kick out of it. What Nancy Meyers films provide is a chance for men & women of a certain age to relate to older characters, as well as yearn to inhabit their lifestyles. Viewers either live Jane's lifestyle or aspire to.
The strengths of the film include the performances by the 3 principle characters, the abundant chemistry btwn. them, & the setting/locales/interiors (like most Meyers films, they are gorgeous; if too idealistic in their depictions. My only major complaint would be that aside from John Krasinski's priceless moments as one of Jane's daughter's beaus, no other character registers as authentic or remotely interesting. But overall, though it's far from perfect, & the movie loses some steam towards the end, I just really enjoyed spending a couple of hours with these people. I laughed a lot (great one-liners, sex scene, pot-smoking scene, nude scene, etc.). It provides a message about life & love. And simply put, I just had a good time watching it.