Friday, December 25, 2009

 

It's Complicated

It's Complicated What a boring world would that be if divorce indeed gets banned—there would have no fight over money, the house, and the kids. Every marriage, good or bad, would be saved, and everything would be much simpler. Luckily, that has not happened yet, so both drama and comedy (in film or in real life) can be made about divorce. Writer/director Nancy Meyers's new comedy "It's Complicated" (USA 2009 | 120 min.) takes a light-hearted look at the lives after divorce. Although the film's direction is as lost as the film's characters about what to do after divorce, the film still turns out to be an entertaining and satisfying chick flick.

Jane (Meryl Streep) and Jake (Alec Baldwin) has been divorced for 10 years with three grown children. While Jake is married to a younger woman and has a toddler, Jane has been busy on designing her new addition to the house with help from a divorced architect Adam (Steve Martin). Even Adam still tries to get over with his failed marriage, he is willing to date Jane. However, when Jane and Jake meet again at their son's graduation, they begin to flirt with the old flare and to have an affair. Everything goes topsy-turvy from there, and surely becomes complicated.

The film has an awkward start when Jane and Jake appear together like anything but a divorced couple. No matter where Jane turns, Jake is in her sight. Despite the terrific and hilarious performance by Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin, the story is unconvincing and the emotion is pretentious, like a typical sitcom on television.

However, not necessarily related, after all Jane's girlfriends suddenly disappear from the film, the film begins to shake off the comic appearances of its protagonists, and to explore their complicated state of mind.

Meryl Streep stars as Jane and Alec Baldwin stars as Jake in IT'S COMPLICATED

If Alec Baldwin gets most the laugh playing Jake, Meryl Streep must have most the fun playing Jane. She gets laid, gets drunk, and she even gets stoned. They have great chemistry on the big screen together. Judging from the film, nobody will understand why they get divorced at the first place and now they want to get back together again, because they never seem able to be apart. That is quite obvious and nothing is complicated about it.

"It's Complicated" opens on Friday, December 25, 2009 at Bay Area theaters.


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