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Sunday, February 14, 2010

It's Complicated (Directed by Nancy Meyers)



Watched: Feb 11th
Starring: Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin

She said:

This films fits perfectly into what you might expect from a Nancy Meyer film. She directed and/or wrote films such as Father of the Bride and Somethings Gotta Give i.e. films focused on middle aged men and women having some sort of breakdown or crisis... albeit a funny one. Like all of these types of film It's Complicated was light-hearted and easy to watch.

The thing I enjoyed most about this film was the chemistry between the children and their parents. Meryl Streep, as you would guess, play a great mum. They do tend to shove the 'perfect' children down your throats (there is lots of hugging and smiles) but hey... who doesn't like a bit of family love right?

Meryl, Alec and Steve make a great love triangle although, as a Steve Martin enthusiast, I would have liked to see more of his character. The thing that bothered me was the glossing over of how hurtful the relationship was to Alec Baldwin's second wife Agnes. The director highlighted her pain in one pained expression but that was pretty much it. The film focused more on how Alec and Meryl's children were affected through the movie.

Overall this film was fun but saccharine in some places and ignorant in others. Pretty harmless and enjoyable although it dragged a lot at the end. I give this film <<<3>>>

He said:

This is a film that as I was watching I thought over and over again how much my mother would like it. To be fair this film is aimed at the middle aged Demographic, though I completely believe it can be widely appreciated by any film goer at any age. It has a wonderful family dynamic that could have been easily over looked by other directors.

Helen mentions above how they conveniently never develop the second wife of Alec Baldwin's character Jake, Agnes. While I understand the reasoning (you are supposed to agree with Meryl's character that Jake was hers first.) I found the snub very distracting. (I am by no means a moral compass but even I had issue with the She started it argument) I agree that I would have liked to see more of Steve Martin but I felt I knew (or at least identified) with his character best.

The film could have ended about twenty minutes sooner, as the ending seemed to just be wading in the plot a bit, but over all it is an enjoyable film. I give it {{{3.5 out of 5}}}

They said:

A fun film with a lovely family and a ridiculously nice house. Not the best film ever made but no where near the worst. With Easter not so far off the horizon you can watch this film without your in-laws cringing too much, We give it <<6.5>>

2 comments:

  1. Commenting, though I honestly have nothing to say. I remember seeing the previews for this film and thought it might be worth it for the array of fantastic actors. Good to know that it wasn't THAT great. At any rate, I need to watch movies so I can read your reviews and be able to bring something to the table. :)

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  2. I will watch it on DVD when it comes out. It's sounds like a, "there's nothing decent on the TV, let's watch a DVD instead," type of film.

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