It's Complicated, But Loving This Movie is a No-Brainer

You know a film is a hit when audience laughter is drowning out post-joke dialogue. Goddess of the box office, Meryl Streep, and funnymen Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin deliver superb performances in this year’s holiday delight.

As if filmdom needed another reason to extol Mrs. Streep as one of the finest actresses of our time, the star shines brilliantly as a middle-aged divorcee experimenting with love with the least likely person – her ex-husband, Jake (Alec Baldwin). Ten years after her divorce, Jane Adler is a restaurateur who, after sending the last of her three children off to college, is ready to build her dream kitchen and settle into an empty home. After a few too many cocktails shared with her ex in a hotel lobby, the film jumps to a subsequent scene in a hotel suite in which we observe two diametrically opposed facial expressions: one of horror and one of bliss…

Completely aghast after her drunken rendezvous, Jane purposes to suppress the sparks Jake considers inextinguishable and focus on kitchen plans with her nerdy and interested architect, Adam (Steve Martin). What ensues is Jake’s commendable determination to court his ex-wife and her futile attempts to resist his food-focused compliments and corpulent, yet somehow virile, physique. Despite her mixed feeling and because of her psychologist’s somewhat ambiguous approval of her affair, Jane resigns herself to the notion of being “a bit of a slut,” and even arranges a lunch date with her ex…in a swanky hotel. In this plush setting, future son-in-law, Harley, played perfectly by John Krasinski, notices the covert couple check in, looks on in horror as they make out in the elevator, then almost steals the show frantically keeping the goings-on from his oblivious fiancée.

As Jane’s shy, likable, and slightly fragile architect, Adam quietly pursues Jane at the same time her ex dashes sneakily to her kitchen window to spy on the flirtatious pair. After Jake misses his romantic date with his mistress/ex-wife because his younger, meaner model is ovulating, Jane invites Adam to a family party which they attend totally stoned after just one hit from a marijuana cigarette (their first in 27 years). Needless to say, the sight of two middle-aged folks with munchies provides an extended scene of hilarious conversations and comical gesticulations.

Eventually, Jane’s sex life with Jake and her romance with Adam culminate in her final decision: Which one will she choose? The answer is irrelevant as the non-stop laughs, ebullient chemistry, peppy performances, and kitchen sink realism keep us craving more of this delectable screwball comedy. Hearkening back to the days of William Powell and Myrna Loy, the smart and hassle-free banter makes even the most understated one-liners and mundane insights seem much more.

As with writer-director Nancy Meyers’s previous rom-coms such as Something’s Gotta Give and What Women Want, It’s Complicated can be overly cutesy with mushy music playing over scenes involving all things chocolate as well as a saccharine montage in which Jane and Adam satisfy the munchies. But if you could stand an entire month of ubiquitous Christmas tunes, the frills of this enjoyable chick-flick will be more than bearable.

4.5 stars out of 5