It's Complicated (Comedy)

It's Complicated is an understatement! And sadly seems to be the theme of most relationships these days. Mine not withstanding! Whilst this is a romantic comedy which definitely gave me a few laugh out loud moments, it also provoked a few serious thoughts regarding relationships and their pros and cons in today's world.

The film is written and directed by Nancy Meyers and whilst I didn't find the script and dialogue as clever as some of her previous films (such as "Something's Gotta Give" and "What Women Want") it was an enjoyable two and half hours. I always find her sets beautiful and this one does not disappoint as it is largely set in and around the main character's gorgeously decorated Santa Barbara home and the beautiful bakery she owns and runs. No doubt Nancy got much inspiration for this film from her own life as there are several similarities - Nancy herself is divorced with children, and at one stage early on in her career she even started a small cheesecake business.

Meryl Streep is amazing as always, and I loved the way they didn't glam her up too much, with many scenes in which she seems to appear wearing minimal make up and looking exactly her age. Alec Baldwin is also well cast - ever since 30 Rock he seems to be getting better and better and again, I loved the brutally honest presentation of him and his physical flaws (even though I found several scenes of him in his boxer shorts difficult to stomach so to speak!). And I love love love John Krasinki (who stars in the US version of The Office) who is understated as usual and bloody funny. Whilst the film has been criticised by some critics as being only entertaining for middle aged movie goers, I found many of the storylines applicable to relationships at any age.

The story centres around Jane (Streep) and her ex husband of ten years Jake (Baldwin), who is married to a younger woman, and their hook up during their son's college graduation. Steve Martin plays a new love interest for Jane - which makes things complicated - and it's good to see him back on the big screen. I felt a lot of empathy for Streep's character as a self reliant divorcee as she wrestles with trying to work out the upside of letting a man back into her life, given that she has successfully built a very full, and fulfilling, single life for herself. As is often the case for singletons, Jane's life doesn't seem to be lacking in anything until she gets an unfortunate taste of cosy coupledom. Then all of a sudden, life seems lonely without a man. No matter how much progress we chicks make - our self worth still seems to be rocked by a bloke's rejection.

The film also made me think about unfinished business and how often we revisit past relationships. I for one am notorious for revisiting past loves! Regardless of how infrequently this strategy seems to result in a healthy relationship with an optimistic future, it always seems like a highly rational and plausible path to happiness at the time. Although as this film demonstrates nicely, maybe it's not such a bad decision to revisit past relationships if you still have something to teach each other.

The movie also focuses on Jane & Jake's three grown children who are still getting over their parent's divorce and how they deal with the rekindled romance. As a child of divorced parents, I identified with this part of the story, it never ceases to amaze me how much of an impact divorce has on all of the family relationships and for how long the disturbances endure! Sadly, not only does it significantly impact each child's relationship with each parent which is frequently written and talked about, but it also significantly impacts relationships between siblings which is not so commonly discussed. From personal experience, as siblings we seem to punish each other for having different reactions or different loyalties to our parents following divorce. On the one hand, it seems to me to be the most simple and understandable occurrence - two adults lose the desire to spend the rest of their life together - what could be more honest and reasonable than arriving at that conclusion? But at the same time, I understand that it is the fact that it's so extremely rare for two people to arrive at that conclusion at the same time and with equal conviction that is the real explanation for most of the anger and bitterness that results.

The movie is easy to watch with some very funny scenes (the scene in which Meryl Streep and Steve Martin share a naughty cigarette is hilarious!). I did feel that in some ways this film tries to tackle too many things, for example, the storyline about Jane's youngest child leaving home is left a bit up in the air. It might have been more powerful to limit the threads of the story and more fully explore all of these. It's definitely worth a peak if you're after some light-hearted fun and a bit of escapism but this is definitely a Hollywood film with a big budget and a happy ending so if you're after something a little more challenging or intellectually stimulating you may want to reconsider your film choice.

Nevertheless, given my penchant for dark and stormy storylines, it was enjoyable to see a film that ended on an optimistic note for a change. Makes you feel like no matter what age you are, there might just be a funny guy like Steve Martin waiting around the corner to share a joint with.....

• Alec Baldwin told US TV Host David Letterman that a body double was used for his nude scenes
• Nancy Meyers earliest success was as a joint screenwriter and executive producer of Private Benjamin (1980) which initially was thought to be box office poison with a female lead and no male star went on to became one of the biggest box office hits of the year grossing nearly $US70m
• Nancy Meyers second solo venture - "What Women Want" - was at one stage the most successful film ever directed by a women taking in $183m in the US