Before I begin this review, I'd like to get on my soapbox, and rant a little about the folks at the MPAA, and their rating of this film. It's Complicated is a sweet, funny, harmless romantic comedy that contains only one utterance of a four letter word, has no real nudity (and when there is, it's covered up Austin Powers-style), and although sex plays a large role in the story, we don't actually get to see it, only the events after. Sounds to me like this would be a PG-13, tops. And yet, due to the fact that there is a comic sequence halfway through the film where the lead characters become goofy after smoking a single joint, the film has been slapped with an R-rating. And yes, this really is the only reason it received the rating, as reported in the Los Angeles Times.

I could wonder about the logic behind the rating, but that would probably take up this entire review. I know that the ratings are supposed to advise audiences about the content, but isn't this a little extreme? Consider Avatar, a movie that features multiple acts of violence, including people getting shot at, blown up, crushed to death, and speared through the heart multiple times. It is PG-13, and even has kid-friendly merchandise such as Happy Meals available at McDonalds everywhere. Yes, it's all fantasy-based violence, but I still don't really understand the logic here. Even the previously mentioned Austin Powers films were PG-13, despite containing gross out humor and content much worse than anything to be found in It's Complicated. (Remember the scene where Mike Myers drinks a cup of feces, mistaking it for coffee?) I'll stop here, but I think you get the point. The rating should not keep anyone away from the sweet-natured and somewhat surprising romantic comedy.

I say surprising, as this is one of the few times watching a romantic comedy where I was not certain of the outcome before the characters were. Writer-director Nancy Meyers (The Holiday) has crafted a love story that is not quite as complex as the title implies, but still leaves you uncertain about who will end up with whom when the end credits roll. It's a love triangle between a single mother named Jane (Meryl Streep), her ex-husband Jake (Alec Baldwin), and a new man in Jane's life, a lonely architect who is helping her with additions to her house named Adam (Steve Martin). As the film opens, Jane is a recent empty nester. She's been divorced from Jake for the past 10 years, and her kids have all grown up and moved on. Jane sees this as the perfect opportunity to get the dream kitchen she has always wanted, as she runs a highly successful pastry business outside of her home, so this is why she hires Adam. There's a connection, to be sure. Adam is sweet-natured, kind, and still hurting from his own divorce. They seem like a good couple. But then Jake comes back. When Jake left, he was having an affair with a young woman (Lake Bell), whom he has since married. But life with the woman and her bratty 5-year-old son has lost its luster, and Jake is beginning to realize what he left behind.

Jane and Jake reunite in New York City for their youngest son's college graduation. Fate conspires to bring them together (her kids run off to be with friends, while he's alone because his wife had to stay home and take care of the sick child). They share drinks and dinner at the hotel bar, and before the night is over, they're dancing and even having sex back in the room. Jane sees it as a one-time lapse of judgement. Jake sees it as something more. He wants to rekindle what they once had together. He begins slipping away to be with her, and the more time they spend together, the more we realize that yes, we want them to be together. Jake obviously still cares very deeply for her, and although she initially resists, feelings start to form on Jane's side as well. But what about Adam? When she's together with him, we also want them to be together. He's obviously dealing with a lot of grief from his own divorce, and sees Jane as the first source of normalcy his personal life has had since his ex-wife ran off with his best friend during a vacation. He cares about her just as much as Jake. It's rare for the outcome of a romantic comedy to be a surprise, but Meyers pulls it off, but making the three characters at the center smart, interesting, and likable despite their flaws.

It's Complicated is certainly smarter and better-acted than most films targeting women we got this past year. It's also genuinely funny in a number of scenes, including some scenes so funny, you can't hear the dialogue over the audience's laughter. The cast certainly helps here. Streep, Baldwin, and Martin all bring a certain low key comic sense to the film. They never seem to be overacting or reaching for the intended comic response. Even when Baldwin's character is sneaking around outside his ex-wife's house, spying on her date with Adam, it's done a lot less broadly than I expected. Although the movie is largely a romantic comic fantasy, the performances keep it grounded in reality. Martin, in particular, is sweetly charming in his role. Considering how many paychecks he's been cashing in the Pink Panther and Cheaper by the Dozen films, this serves as a reminder that yes, he can actually act and be very likable when the film doesn't force him to be clueless buffoon. Streep, meanwhile, probably could have done this role in her sleep, but she doesn't phone it in. She makes Jane into a well-rounded and charismatic woman that we can relate to. This is harder than it sounds, considering her character lives in a sprawling house in Santa Barbara, which she apparently is able to afford by running a pastry store.

The film is not perfect, and does take a few rare missteps. Jane has a small group of best friends, whom she gossips and drinks wine with in a few scenes. These women serve absolutely no point to the film, other than to scream and laugh as Jane recounts her recent relationship trials. They all talk and act like they wandered in from a lesser Nora Ephron film, and have no place here. The supporting characters are also nowhere near as strong as the three main characters, and don't seem to have been written with the same level of care. The only supporting character who does stand out is the future husband of one of Jane's daughters, who is played by John Krasinski. He has some great comic and physical reactions to everything that's going on around him, so it's the performance that makes the character stand out. I can picture the character disappearing into the background, if he had been played by someone else.
Despite this, It's Complicated manages to be entertaining, thanks mainly to the strong leads, and some genuinely funny writing on Meyers' part. It's sure to be a big draw for women over the holiday season, and it deserves to be. Considering the quality of most recent romantic comedies, I would praise this movie for just being watchable. Fortunately, there's a lot more to recommend here.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

0 comments