Wednesday, December 30, 2009

It's Complicated


Last night Judy and I went to see "It's Complicated," with Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin. It was definitely a "chick flick" so I went over to Rotten Tomatoes to see what its "freshness" rating is over there. (The link takes you to that page.) Surprisingly, to me, it only has a 50% freshness rating. The way this website works is a positive review gets a fresh tomato, and a negative review gets a splat.

First of all, I will see ANYTHING that Meryl is in, and I have never seen a Nancy Meyers film (she wrote and directed this) that I didn't like. Any woman of a certain age will appreciate the humor in this movie. It's not often that we get to see the older woman pursued by the men in the movie (think "Something's Gotta Give," another Meyers movie). Alec Baldwin was really good as Jane's ex-husband. I read two reviews that pretty much say what I felt about the movie, and one of them is even written by a man. The first is by Lisa Kennedy at the Denver Post. She ends her post with this quote:
Sure, "Up in the Air" is the more ambitiously modern comedy. But this often hysterical romp has a Hollywood Golden Era ease. Simply put, "It's Complicated" is a hoot. Who among us cannot not appreciate that?

Maybe the men who are being made fun of, like the Jakes of the world? My favorite review was written by James Berardinelli over at Reelviews. If you spend much time over at Rotten Tomatoes reading the reviews, you'll see that most guys and quite a few women reviewers felt the movie was too cutesy and not indicative of the real world. Hello? I wanted to see a movie with a scene like this one:
Perhaps no other working director can get as much humor out of the naked human body. Meyers provoked big laughs when Diane Keaton disrobed in Something's Gotta Give. Here, it's Alec Baldwin's turn. The scene is so hilarious that you won't hear a line of dialogue - the rest of the audience will be laughing too loudly. It's Complicated features something increasingly rare in romantic comedies: most of the jokes work. They're funny. And you won't feel embarrassed for having laughed at them because you won't be the only one in the theater doing so.
Yep, this movie kept us both laughing and appreciating the actors. Steve Martin was superb as he underplayed his character. By the end of the movie, I was rooting for him to win Jane's affection, but the movie will keep you guessing till the end. If you see it, I'd love to know what you thought about it. Next up: Judy and I will go to see "Up In the Air" on Saturday!
:-)

13 comments:

  1. I am looking forward to catching this movie, I'm a huge Meryl Streep fan.
    Sunny :)

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  2. I can hardly wait to see this movie. I've always been a Baldwin fan, (Steve is a little too clean cut for me...) and Meryl is just my favorite female actor. BUT! I have such a yucky feeling when I think of the slightest possibility of having an affair with one of my ex's. Can you relate?

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  3. It looks like a fun movie to see. I like Meryl too. I finally just got around to seeing Julie and Julia and she was perfect as Julia. She always nails the part.

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  4. Love Meryl Streep in anything she plays...
    I have watched Out of Africa at least four times over the past three months.
    Sounds like this is a fun movie, thank you for the "heads up".

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  5. I definitely want to see this movie.. great post.

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  6. I went to see this movie with my mother and we both enjoyed it a lot! I love movies like this. I liked that it didn't have a super mushy typical lovey dovey ending.

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  7. It will be weeks before it shows up here..I like Ms Streep also..I did enjoy Julie/Julia:)

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  8. Thanks for the review. It is definitely on my list - I had four and we've seen one - so that leaves three more and one of them is Up In The Air, and the other is Avatar. We've seen Sherlock Holmes this last week and want to catch this one next. Thanks!

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  9. I have to be really honest, romantic comedies are not my cup of tea. I am looking forward to Sherlock Holmes and The Book of Eli. I prefer action/adventure movies. But I have a question, how is everyone finding time to see a movie?
    Happy New Year,
    Judy

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  10. We came back to a house which needs load of work to be ready for the workers next Monday, so instead of starting to work, we went to two matinees yesterday. I wanted to see Invictus because of your review. We saw that one first and loved it. Morgan Freeman is just great as Nelson Mandela. Then we saw It’s Complicated. It was hard at first, since leaving Invictus, to get into it’s Complicated, but it was fun. I like the son in law played by John Krasinski, he was good. Alec Baldwin makes a good sleazebag and is quite funny. Meryl Streep is perfect as usual. I think it is a good light comedy with beautiful décor (who wouldn’t wish to have a house like that in California?) and chocolate croissants are my favorite. That was a good twofer as my husband says.

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  11. This is on my watch list too D-Jan. I also want to see Julie and Julia. I think I want to see Avatar, so long as there is a good story to it. I will wait and watch the reviews. Like you, I identify with these sorts of films. I like a film that cheers me up, makes me laugh with joy and cry with emotion. I also love Meryl Streep. My favourite is the French Lieutenant's Woman, but the Abba film is surprisingly good too.
    Blessings, Star

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  12. I wondered about this movie after all of the previews I've seen lately. I'm glad ya'll enjoyed it. I love a romantic comedy; life is often far too serious. I also love that there are more and more movies out there that show that love isn't only for the young!

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  13. I heard this movie is good..I hope to also see it too. Glad you liked it!

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