Saturday, January 9, 2010

It's Complicated ***

It's Complicated
*** out of ****

Meryl Streep returns to the screen and once again proves she's the queen of the movie world in this new romantic comedy that actually delivers on both the romance, the comedy, and the heart.
Streep plays Jane, a middle-aged woman divorced from Jake, played by the excellent Alec Baldwin (TV's 30 Rock). They have three grown children, and while Jake is married to the much younger woman he cheated on Jane with, Jane is hopelessly single. The two keep bumping into each other and so inevitably end up sleeping together the night before their son's graduation, after many drinks and dancing. Jake is ecstatic at this turn of events, but Jane is horrified at herself. Things get- you guessed it- complicated when another man enters the picture and is extremely interested in Jane. Adam, played by the legend himself, Steve Martin, is Jane's architect, and while she at first all but ignores him, she slowly warms up to him and they start a gentle courtship. Jake finds out they're dating and gets jealous.
The plot revolves around this love triangle and the effects it has on everyone involved. The film offers many funny moments involving plastic surgery, infertility, marijuana, indiscretion, and a hilarious video-conference gag. John Krasinski channels Jim Halpert, except much livelier, as Harley, the man engaged to Jane's oldest daughter. Harley is the first to find out about the affair between the older couple, and seeing him struggle with the truth is one of the high points of the movie.
The three leads are all terrific and all totally believable. By the end of the movie, the audience has formed different opinions on all of these characters because they feel like very real people. Writer/director Nancy Meyers has succeeded in creating a very good romantic comedy for adults, which are rare these days; so many silly juvenile movies are released that the adults often get forgotten. While It's Complicated isn't entirely an original or inventive film, it's great entertainment that features at least a couple Oscar-worthy performances. And no, the plot is not as complicated as the title suggests.
I would recommend this film to mature viewers who enjoy romantic comedies, and fans of the stars.

You can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE2CItUaAcA

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