Review: It’s Complicated

It’s Complicated

OPENING: 12/25/2009

STUDIO: Universal

RUN TIME: 120

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
Divorced… with benefits.

Opening Statement
Nancy Meyers whips up another batch of her signature fluff in It’s Complicated, this holiday season’s obligatory attempt to draw in the 40+ female crowd. For better or worse, it’s pretty much another Nancy Meyers film, nothing more and nothing less. I can live with that.

Facts of the Case
Meryl Streep stars as Jane Adler (no relation to Irene Adler, debuting on the same day in Sherlock Holmes), a divorced baker who is still attempting to get over her failed relationship with ex-husband Jake (Alec Baldwin) ten years after their split. Jake is currently married to a woman young enough to be Jane’s daughter, a fact which makes Jane even more resentful. It’s a surprise to both Jake and Jane when they find themselves suddenly involved in a passionate affair. Is it possible that they were meant for each other after all? Complicating matters even more is Jane’s increasingly friendly relationship with Adam (Steve Martin), a warm and friendly architect. Jake is funny and interesting, but Adam is so fundamentally decent he might qualify for sainthood. Who will Jane choose?

The Evidence
Though hardly the complex narrative the title might suggest, It’s Complicated is a pleasant and inoffensive way to spend two hours. The story is fairly predictable, though not agonizingly so. The jokes are only moderately funny, but they are funny. Meyers does not make great cinema, but she does know how to craft a good time. This is a movie designed to inspire a generous dose of giggles and a whole lot of good feelings, which is precisely what it provides (slightly ironic, given that it centers on a character who is perpetually flustered and concerned). It’s a comedy of embarrassment, but a very gentle one. The viewer is never in any doubt that all parties concerned will make it to the end credits relatively unscathed.

So, we watch as one comic scenario after another is played out to the strains of a lilting Hans Zimmer score and some lightly flavorful pop tunes. Jane has just slept with her ex-husband. Oh no! What will she do now? Jane is supposed to be attending a family affair, and she’s stoned out of her mind after trying marijuana for the first time in 27 years. Oh! How will she handle such a situation? Adam is in the middle of an online video chat with Jane, and suddenly gets an eyeful of a very naked Jake. Oh no! How will she explain everything to Adam and win back his trust? Serving as an audience surrogate is Jane’s son-in-law Harley (John Krasinski, who energetically mugs for the camera along the lines of his turn in Leatherheads).

The movie rests on the shoulders of the three leads, and they pull off their fairly simple roles about as well as you would expect them to. Streep isn’t really stretching herself by any means, but creates a character suffering from a few mild contradictions make perfect sense. Martin mostly plays his role in a straightforward manner, projecting sweetness without making it too sugary, and innocence without seeming too dopey. The juiciest role goes to Baldwin, who generates the biggest laughs with his shamelessly lustful behavior. It’s hard to fathom that the dull leading man of Ghosts of Mississippi has turned into such a comedic pro (for more Baldwin goodness, I suggest tuning in to the terrific NBC sitcom 30 Rock).

Closing Statement
I liked It’s Complicated, in spite of the cliches and familiarity. It helped that I saw the film in a theater packed full of middle-aged women, who gave the movie one of the heartiest receptions I have ever experienced. It’s a crowd-pleaser, and thus best experienced with a crowd.

The Verdict
7/10

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