IT'S COMPLICATED
STARRING: Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, John Krasinski, Lake Bell, Rita Wilson, Hunter Parrish and Zoe Kazan
WRITTEN BY: Nancy Meyers
DIRECTED BY: Nancy Meyers
Rated: R
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: 25 December 2009
Now this is a romantic comedy! Its title may be It's Complicated, but there is nothing complicated in regards to the elements that make the film terrific. For starters it stars three of the most gifted actors working today: Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. And for seconds, it's written and directed by none other than, Nancy Myers. Having previously brought us such flawless delights as Something's Gotta Give, The Holiday and What Women Want, Myers is without a doubt the Spielberg of the rom-com (romantic comedy).
What I love most about Myers is, she writes her films from the heart and then directs them from the same place. According to her DVD audio commentaries, she traditionally writes from what she has experienced in real life; and it translates beautifully in her work.
Meryl Streep stars as a middle-aged divorced mother named Jane Adler. Alec Baldwin plays her ex-husband Jake and he does it so well, you wonder if he and Jake are more similar than you'd like to think (hopefully he's just that good of an actor!).
Jake's a slime-ball but he's an attractive and charming slime-ball. This makes it easy for us to buy that he can convince his ex-wife to have an affair with him while they are in town for their son's college graduation. Trust me, the excessive alcohol he buys her plays its part in setting this into motion, which also drives the film forward. And we have a soft chuckle at the realization that the sex may have been a tad bit better for Jake, than it was for our girl!
Jake is the overly-used cliché in films and in life, of a married man who steps out on his wife without the slightest bit of remorse for doing so. But Baldwin offers this all too familiar villain a fresh and wickedly funny persona that we have seldom seen in similar characters before. Slimy or not, you just can't help but like the guy. Second only to The Edge, this is my favorite performance of Baldwin's, and he's delivered a whole slew good ones.
We are able to forgive our leading lady Jane for sleeping with a married man, because his wife (Lake Bell) is not only a bitch, but Jake in fact left Jane to be with her after sowing his oats in her basket on the side, several years ago. I'm not saying this is a good thing, I'm just saying it allows us to still root for Jane; mistress to a married man or not! If that doesn't have you convinced, then surely the superbly hilarious delivery of Streep's one-liner to her gal pals will: "Turns out... I'm a bit of a slut!"
The film needs not establish the relationship of Jane and Jake for us, because it is already there. They were married for years, they have several kids together, and both of their performances have us undoubtedly believing these characters from the very first scene.
This allows time for the relationship between Steve Martin's character Adam, and Jane to grow and keep us invested there. Now we have a romance stewing between Jane and Adam, who is the guy we know she should really be with; and the jealousy of Jake when he isn't able to give Jane as much time as Adam, as he has to be home for dinner with the wife! Baldwin plays jealously remarkably well also, and he throws in a bit of immaturely to it to boot!
Adam is an architect who has been hired on by Jane to help her design an extension to her already massive home. It can be argued that this is a tad bit ridiculous as Jane lives alone in the already huge house, and probably wouldn't be able to afford such an improvement with her job as a professional baker, but the film doesn't dwell on it, nor does it make a cheesy mess out of it.
Nancy Myers is an expert when it comes to meet-cutes (the point in a film where two central characters meet; see a detailed explanation in The Holiday) in her films, and this is not only that, but also a subtext of what Jane and Adam's relationship is; Jane is in need of a makeover in her love life, and Adam is the architect that will build that for her - got it? I thought so.
There are a ton of laughs to be found in this film, particularly those where Martin and Baldwin share the screen. Baldwin's face kills me every time (as I've seen the movie numerous times now), when he glares at the two of them from across the room at a party, realizing that he may have a history with Jane, but this new guy is just that - new, and has never hurt her. You can match the laugh there, with Steve Martin's portrayal of a guy who is high at the same party, and trying to not make it so obvious. When Jake approaches him and Jane, Adam mutters to her with classic Steve Martin poise, "Not a good time to be feelin' groovy!"
In addition to the outlandish laughter, there are also scenes of perfected cinematic romance between Jane and both men. The scene with Jane and Jake in the bathroom, and the one between her and Adam at the bakery, were my most prized moments of these.
There are some very big and well done side performances by talented actors too. These are cleverly written and directed by Myers as always, and are constantly playing off of the comedy in all three acts wonderfully. Watch for the scenes with Jane's son-in-law (John Krasinski) when he catches onto her affair with Jake and can't tell anyone.
This is the kind of writing that inspires writers to be writers. The film is filled with little moments like these, as are Nancy Myers' other films.
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- rockromanticReviewed in Australia on March 22, 2021
Very funny comedy - reflecting divorcees thoughts
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