Romantic comedy pairs up exes for a ‘Complicated’ affair
Despite the film titled of Nancy Meyers’ latest piece, the movie
really isn’t all that complicated to figure out. But the
writer/director creates a movie with endearing characters who
viewers will want to end up happy even if we all know the steps
they are taking are all the wrong ones.
”
It’s Complicated
”
stars Meryl Streep as Jane Adler, a divorced mother of three
whose youngest son is about to graduate from college. Even though
she has been separated from Jake (Alec Baldwin) for 10 years, she’s
never had to live alone until middle daughter Gabby (Zoe Kazan)
moves out of the house.
Romantic comedy pairs up exes for a ‘Complicated’ affair
Despite the film titled of Nancy Meyers’ latest piece, the movie really isn’t all that complicated to figure out. But the writer/director creates a movie with endearing characters who viewers will want to end up happy even if we all know the steps they are taking are all the wrong ones.
“It’s Complicated” stars Meryl Streep as Jane Adler, a divorced mother of three whose youngest son is about to graduate from college. Even though she has been separated from Jake (Alec Baldwin) for 10 years, she’s never had to live alone until middle daughter Gabby (Zoe Kazan) moves out of the house.
Jake is remarried to the much younger woman with whom he had an affair on Jane. Just as Jane is considering plastic surgery to cover up the signs of age, Jake and his new wife Agness are researching fertility treatments since he is less fertile than he used to be.
Though Jake and Jane have barely learned to be civil with each other after a decade apart, they find themselves at the same hotel bar the night before their son’s graduation in New York – their three kids are off at a party and Jake’s wife is home sick with her pre-K son (who is not Jake’s child.) They enjoy dinner together, a few bottles of wine, dancing and end up in bed together at the end of the night.
The next morning Jane feels horribly guilty as they attend son Luke’s (Hunter Parrish) graduation and an afternoon lunch. But Jake seems to be content with what happened the night before.
The kids stay in New York to help Luke move him while Jane returns to her work at a bakery and a project to redesign her home kitchen. Jake keeps calling her, but she avoids his calls. She is in the middle of a meeting with architect Adam (a subdued Steve Martin) when Jake shows up at her house unexpectedly. Jane resists at first, but eventually gives in and the couple ends up in bed again.
Soon enough, the formerly married couple is having a full-blown affair and Jane becomes the other woman. Jake says after one meeting that it seem as though all the problems they had when they were married had gone away – they are both established in their careers, the kids are grown up, and they now have more time and energy. Jakes seems to think they are falling in love all over again – though he still says they should just keep things between the two of them to see how it works out.
Still, Jane knows there is something wrong with what she is doing. In a therapy session she vocalizes all the reasons she might be having an affair with her ex-husband – unfinished business, revenge on Agness, loneliness. It soon becomes clear, though, that even if Jake seems like a new man, he’s the same old guy. He admits that things are rough at home with Agness and the house is noisy with her young son Pedro. She wants to have a baby and he is unsure about it. Plus, he really likes Jane’s cooking, especially since his current wife isn’t much of a cook.
While she is spending time with Jake, Jane is also getting to know Adam, the architect, better. He has been divorced for more than two years. His wife left him for his ex-best friend while the couples were on a biking tour of Tuscany. Adam has been set up about a million times since the divorce, but he hasn’t met anyone he really likes. But he seems to like Jane, though he also senses that she isn’t really available. It is when Jane finally accepts a date from Adam that things really get complicated.
Baldwin and Streep are excellent in the roles of Jake and Jane. Baldwin plays Jake as a self-absorbed man who doesn’t really see anything wrong with having an affair, especially if it is with his ex-wife, a woman with him he was involved for more than 20 years. He cracks jokes about his age and girth, and teases Jane for her modesty around him. Streep epitomizes a woman who is torn between doing what is right and what feels good. Jane knows she is doing something wrong, and underneath, she seems to understand it won’t end well. She still gets drawn back in by Jake’s charm.
The movie has plenty of funny moments, and ones that are heartbreaking as well. John Krasinski of “The Office” fame has some good screen time as Harley, fiance to Jane and Jake’s oldest daughter Lauren (Caitlin Fitzgerald.) While Harley and Lauren are at meeting with a wedding planner at a hotel, Harley spies Jake checking into a hotel – with Jane following behind shortly after. He keeps the secret from Lauren and the other Adler children. Krasinski’s character in the movie acts a lot like his character Jim from “The Office,” but it works to add some comic relief and tension to the movie.
Melissa Flores can be reached at mf*****@pi**********.com. For a year-in-review of movies from 2009, visit her blog at melissa-movielines.blogspot.com, where she writes about films, television and food.
