I can't remember the last time I laughed so much in a movie theatre.
Fun and quirky, It's Complicated, which opened on Dec. 25th, stars Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. They all offer some of the most outstanding moments of their careers.
Streep is intoxicating, beautiful and sexy at sixty; Baldwin disarmingly charming; Martin is quietly enchanting and funny all the while.
It's written and directed by Nancy Meyers, (Something's Gotta Give, The Holiday, Irreconcilable Differences, Father of the Bride, Private Benjamin.)
There's a bit of sizzling sex, a little pot smoking, and a lot of cherchez la femme and paramour du jour hilarity, especially for boomers willing to laugh at themselves and their foibles.
The plot (from the movie website):
Jane Adler (Streep) is the mother of three grown kids, owns a thriving Santa Barbara bakery/restaurant and has -- after a decade of divorce -- an amicable relationship with her ex-husband, attorney Jake (Baldwin). But when Jane and Jake find themselves out of town for their son's college graduation, things start to get complicated. An innocent meal together leads to several bottles of wine, which in turn becomes a laugh-filled evening of memories about their 19-year marriage... and then to an impulsive affair. With Jake remarried to the much younger Agness (Lake Bell), Jane is now, of all things, the other woman. Caught in the middle of this renewed romance is Adam (Martin), an architect hired to remodel Jane's kitchen. Also divorced, Adam starts to fall for Jane, but soon realizes he's become part of an unusual love triangle.
John Krasinski (Jim Halpert on NBC's hit comedy The Office) offers some extraordinarily funny moments in his juicy, supporting role as Harley, Lauren's fiancà ©e.
The ex-couple's grown children are played by Caitlin Fitzgerald (Taking Woodstock, A Jersey Christmas) as Lauren, Zoe Kazan (Revolutionary Road, I Hate Valentine's Day) as Gabby and Hunter Parrish (17 Again, television's Weeds) as Luke.
Streep's closest friends (and romantic advisors) are Rita Wilson (Old Dogs, Sleepless in Seattle) as Trisha; Mary Kay Place (Julie & Julia, television's Big Love) as Joanne; Alexandra Wentworth (Office Space, television's Head Case) as Diane; and Nora Dunn (Pineapple Express, Bruce Almighty) as Sally.
The "R" rating is apparently for the pot smoking, as the frontal nudity was humorously and thankfully camouflaged. (Or, did I hear the "f" word once?)
Streep has received 15 Academy Award nominations, more than any other actress, and won two. (Katherine Hepburn received 12 nominations, and won four.)
Streep also has 25 Golden Globe nominations to her credit, and won six. She's up against stiff competition at the Globes this year: herself! She's been nominated for both It's Complicated and Julie & Julia. (The Oscars don't allow actors to be nominated twice in one category, but the Globes don't have that restriction.)
In Katharine Hepburn had it coming; will Meryl Streep match her Oscar nod record? (Feb. 13, 2009), Katherine Monk says,
... consider Hepburn's four Best Actress wins: Her first win in was for Morning Glory (1933) came as a young ingenue, without a single previous nod. Her next statue came more than 30 years and nine nominations later for Stanley Kramer's Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (1967). Her third statue came one year later for The Lion in Winter (1968), a film that many assumed would be one of her last. Yet, a little more than a decade after her non-retirement, Hepburn found glory once more with a win for On Golden Pond (1981).
... some of Hepburn's best work was completely glossed over in her prime because she'd already landed a prize. Classic performances in Woman of the Year, The Philadelphia Story, The African Queen, Suddenly, Last Summer and Long Day's Journey Into Night went unheralded because there was a sense of dà ©ja vu.
By the time Hepburn hit 60 years of age, however, the Academy probably had a little more sympathy for the woman once dubbed "box office poison" and lifted the emotional Hepburn embargo to recognize her work in Kramer's race-themed comedy. Meryl Streep turns 60 this June (2009), and just like Hepburn, a lot of her best work has been glossed over since her last win in 1982 as Best Actress for Sophie's Choice (her only other Oscar is a Best Supporting Actress win for 1979's Kramer vs. Kramer.
I loved Streep's triangle d'amour interactions
with Baldwin and Martin in this film, and I hope she leaves the Academy Awards
with a third fellow - a little, naked, golden one. She deserves it.
RESOURCES
http://itscomplicatedmovie.com/ Accessed Dec . 28, 2009.
Katharine Hepburn had it coming; will Meryl Streep match her Oscar nod record? by Katherine Monk, Canwest News Service, Feb. 13, 2009. Accessed Dec. 28, 2009.
