Insubstantial as a soufflé and yet, as delectable down to the last spoonful, It’s Complicated, directed by Nancy Meyers, is a predictable romcom that strikes all the right notes with an ensemble cast that includes Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.
What does it feel like to be the other woman in your former husband’s life? Jane (Streep) is a mum of three who’s been happily divorced for ten years and shares an agreeable friendship with Jake, her ex (played by Baldwin). Cupid’s arrows, it seems, can strike twice in the same place, as Jane discovers when Jake and she go out of town to attend their son’s graduation and a perfectly innocuous dinner sparks off the unimaginable – a renewed romance. So why is that complicated? Because Jake is now married to the much younger Agness (Lake Bell). There’s another heart involved in the person of Adam (Martin), the architect who’s redesigning Jane’s kitchen; on the rebound from an unhappy marriage, he finds himself falling for Jane...yes, it’s complicated, all right!
The role of middle-aged Jane, the betrayed divorcee who’s metamorphosed into a woman of substance, is by no means a stretch for the magnificent Streep. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin match her with compelling performances that turn the conventional storyline into eminently watchable fare. The film’s length is a tad too long and the plot tends to meander in the second half. But these are minor quibbles – the sheer fun these three seem to be having gets you coasting along with them for the entire ride. The supporting cast of Lake Bell, Zoe Kazan and John Krasinkski are impressive too.
It’s Complicated was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards (Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical, Best Screenplay – Motion Picture and Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy). Worth a buy, especially for fans of Meryl Streep!