It's Complicated

Movie Review : It's Complicated
Director : Nancy Meyer
Genre : Comedy
Released : December 2009
Starring : Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin
My Rating : 6 out of 10

Nancy Meyer is known for light, comedy movies and "It's Complicated" is no exception. And .... hmmm, let's just say as it is - this is a "Chick Flick" just like her other movies.

But is it good ? The script starts out well, has some really funny moments. After about 3 quarters of it, the script forgets that it started out as a comedy, tries to change its genre to drama and makes "It's too complicated for itself". That's my attempt to make a pun on the name, just in case you missed.

Jane (Meryl Streep) is the owner of a bakery in an up-scale neighborhood. She is a divorcee, with 3 grown-up kids. She accidentally starts an affiar with her ex-husband (Alec Baldwin) who is currently married to a much younger woman. The romantic triangle is completed by Adam (Steve Martin) who is helping Jane build a dream kitchen.

It makes for an interesting and a bit novel set-up for a light-hearted comedy with a clear target audience demography. I have already stated what's problematic with the movie. Still it has numerous strengths to make it worth watching. The main strength, of course, is the perfect cast. Alec Baldwin does a nice job and we know exactly what type of person his character is. Steve Martin, as a bit of surprise, plays a serious, sensitive and reserved person. The center of the movie is naturally the Godess of Acting herself - Merryl Streep.

The movie is less than 2 hours, but could have been even shorter. It is definitely enjoyable. There are more than a few adult only jokes in it, else it could have been OK for kids. In any case, I really doubt if there are any kids (of any age) interested in watching romance between old folks ! Just watch it for Merryl Streep, if for no other reason.