It's Complicated

"It's Complicated" is written and directed by Nancy Meyers. It stars Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, and Alec Baldwin.

This movie comes from the romantic comedy factory known as Nancy Meyers. It's basically all she does and she makes a living off it. This time around she uses the ever popular love triangle as the plot piece for her newest endeavor. Jane and Jake have been divorced for 10 years. Jane (Meryl Streep) is still single and Jake (Alec Baldwin) is married to the younger woman he cheated on Jane with. After 10 years they decide it might be a good idea to have an affair...since Jane did have Jake first. The two of them most likely have made better decisions in their lives. Throw in Jane's architect, Adam (Steve Martin) who Jane becomes romantically involved with for a time and you have "It's Complicated."

The strong points of this movie can be summed up in two words...Meryl Streep. If it weren't for her I would have never gone to see the movie....especially after all the mediocre to horrible reviews it has gotten. She is, as I have said before, probably the greatest actress currently working in Hollywood. Meryl Streep can do absolutely any role that she is given. She is great here, but not as good as she was as Julia Child in "Julie & Julia." That was just amazing and I bet she'll get an Oscar nomination for it. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are also good to watch. They both have pretty good chemistry with Meryl Streep...although I gotta say nothing beats her and Clint Eastwood in "The Bridges of Madison County." Steve Martin also wasn't used to his fullest potential. His character just was not that interesting. So basically "It's Complicated" has three great actors trying to work with a mediocre script.

The movie is a bit too long and toward the end it just seemed to drag on. The movie was not as funny as I had hoped. There are definitely some funny lines, they are just very infrequent. This movie had the potential to be a very smart, funny, ensemble comedy. I personally blame Nancy Meyers for this not being the result...the also great cast of "What Women Want" got a better script out of her. But in Nancy Meyers's defense, Meryl Streep and Steve Martin's characters smoking pot is really funny and probably the highlight of the movie...not quite sure what that says about the movie.

The movie wasn't horrible...it also wasn't great like it should have and could have been. The three main actors are very talented and have impressive resumes and I know they are funnier than this movie would lead many movie-goers to believe. The script, besides a few funny scenes/lines was pretty weak. "Julie and Julia" was actually the funnier Meryl Streep movie. This movie doesn't need to be seen in theaters...unless you love the cast or something...but at the very least it's worth a rental...and if you end up hating it...then so what - it only cost you a dollar. 2 out of 4 stars.

-Joseph Sbrilli