It’s Complicated is actually quite a great little comedy movie making the rounds on the cinema circuit at the moment and as you might have expected, Chantelle did drag me along to see it – and I actually quite enjoyed it.
The story revolves around a woman (Meryl Streep) who has now been divorced from her husband for well over ten years, with him leaving her for a much younger woman and eventually going ahead and having a child with her. The last of her three kids have now finally made it to college age, meaning Meryl now finds herself free from the day to day activities that go along with bringing up children, but as is to be expected, this newfound freedom brings a lot of soul searching opportunity with it. On the other side of the picture, her ex-husband (Alec Baldwin) finds himself increasingly dissatisfied with his younger wife and their demanding child, and slowly but surely begins to miss and long after the life he had with his ex-wife and his children so long ago.
A forced family reunion in celebration of the eldest’ college graduation sees Alec seize his chance and begin an extra-marital affair with Meryl, the very woman he cheated on ten years ago in the first place. Although hesitant at first, Meryl does eventually take to it and slowly allows it to grow, though there is only one small little problem attached to all of this – she also kind of happens to be falling for this withdrawn architect who is currently tasked with renovating her house, a role taken on by the ever young Steve Martin.
What follows is a fantastically woven story that examines divorce and the effect on the parents and children involved, the emotions involved and how one moves past that, while at the same time building up a great little love story that really could go either way.
The dialogue is witty, there are plenty of comedic moments to be had, there is the expected fair share of drama, romance and tales from the heart and in the end you are left with a wonderful, engaging, polished package that isn’t silly, delivers a great story (covering ground not usually covered in big Hollywood releases) and is surprisingly feel good in the end, even if the movie does NOT opt for that sickly sweet romantic comedy ending that big screen releases usually go for.
Obviously having stars of the caliber of Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin works wonders for bringing this story to life and making it as enjoyable and engaging as it is, and under the masterful hand of director Nancy Meyers, the audience gets treated to a really great and fun movie experience.
Honestly, it really isn’t the type of movie I normally enjoy, but this time around I really liked it, had some great laughs and chuckles, and even let a tear or two silently trickle down during those appropriate mushy sequences when no one was looking.
It’s a good movie, well worth watching with your loved one if you have one those in your life! :P
Related Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It’s_Complicated_(film)