Every year, the emergence of rom-coms always gets me a bit worried, I mean they’re usually cut from the same cloth really, aren’t they? But It’s Complicated makes a valiant effort to steer into different territory and succeeds in providing quite a few laughs while at the same time asking questions about what is acceptable in the world of divorcees.
Not that I’ve ever doubted her but Meryl Streep has shown once again that she is still at the top of her game. She plays Jane, a 50-something-year-old woman who looks fantastic but who desperately needs to get laid. The film begins at a friend’s party where Jane meets her ex of 10 years, Jake, played by the smooth charmer Alec Baldwin. Unfortunately Jane is reminded of the fact that Jake left her for a younger model, his now wife Agness (Lake Bell ). What makes it worse is that while Jane is wondering about how to reclaim some of her youthfulness, Agness and Jake are attending fertility clinics.
When Jake bumps into his ex-wife during their son’s graduation he jumps at the chance to ignite the old passion. Once the drink weans off Jane’s reaction to their little deed is just priceless. She is racked with guilt, she is now the ‘other woman’. Was this out of loneliness, for pay-back, or is she really falling back in love with her ex?
As if her life is not complicated enough, a rather nerdy looking architect, called Adam, played by Steve Martin, walks into her life with plans for her new kitchen and a possible alternative to her love life. A wild night out at a family party, involving a lot of potent marijuana, sees Jane and Adam have a hilarious time much to the annoyance of a jealous Jake. So, now that there are two men after her, Jane must weigh up what is best for her and her family.
I was really surprised at this flick. The fact that it revolves around middle-aged divorcees who fall in and back out of love is a different approach, one which worked extremely well. The chemistry between Streep and Baldwin was extraordinary, one can’t help wonder if they were having an affair in real life when the cameras stopped rolling. This film will certainly give you a few laughs.
Verdict: 4/5
