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IT'S COMPLICATED |
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Just about everyone knows a divorced couple that did the backslide. For those who aren't familiar with it, the backslide is the time after the divorce when a couple
rekindle sexual connections. My parents did it. I did it with my second ex-wife. A lot of people do it. Generally it happens within the first two years or so of divorce - after the bitter anger and before finding
someone new. But I don't know how many people do the backslide they
way it happens in Nancy Meyers' latest rom-com "It's Complicated" with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin. Once again, as in "Something's Gotta Give", Meyers pairs two great thespians in a real world situation that delves into human frailties at their funniest. |
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Jane (Streep) and Jake (Baldwin) have been divorce many years - he has since remarried
a much younger babe named Agness (Lake Bell) - when the encounter each other at their
sons graduation for college. This isn't a big deal as they live in a smallish town and run into each other often. This time thought, Jake notices how lovely Jane is.
Again this wouldn't be a big deal save for the fact that she is now becoming and empty-nester. She is now feeling lonely. With the aid of her friends chiding her she becomes vulnerable to Jake's advances when they again encounter each other in
New York. Jake's New wife didn't make the trip, he and Jane have a few drinks and... it's into the sack. Against better judgement, they continue the tryst with his now former wife. Suddenly the prim and proper Jane has jumped feet first into a sordid
affair with her ex-husband with a certain amount of satisfaction - revenge against Agness. |
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While all this is going on, Jane is having her home remodeled into her dream home. The architect Adam (Steve Martin) is a fairly recent divorcee who
hasn't met anyone worth a hoot. They are either too young and dumb or just not his type. He to is attracted to Jane and the two begin visiting each other casually. To add to the confusion, Jane and Jake must keep the affair out of the sensitive eyes of their basically grown children who have
grown accustom to them being apart but friends. Obviously with so many risk factors there will be failures and missteps. And that is where the hilarity steps in. The missteps are mainly on Jake's part and Alec Baldwin excels at his dry humor and shit-ass confident grin as he assumes
he is back in the saddle again. He plays well off both Streep and Lake - Lake as a maniacal woman on fertility hormones who schedules his appointments to coincide with her ovulation. She's like an in vitro-zilla! For Streep, she has continued the Donna Sheridan type role she created in last years "Mamma Mia". A late onset coming-of-age woman in denial and submission to her ex. "It's Complicated" is a terrific rom-com with well developed characters, the perfect amount of seriousness, and a terrific storyline. There is validation in the backslide - it comes during a scene with her therapist who gives her permission to do it - which all divorcees seek. "It's Complicated" frees the guilt in a comical, fun manner. --GEOFFREY BURTON
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