Immy's Review: It's Complicated.

It’s Complicated

Directed: Nancy Meyers

Starring: Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, Hunter Parrish, John Kasinski, Rita Wilson

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Stars: 4.8/5

(Warning – Contain Spoilers)

‘It’s complicated’ is exactly my type of film. A romantic comedy with fun-loving characters with a slight twist. The reviews with this one seem split 50/50, but it’s a Rom-Com so it’s exactly what we expect. I fell in love with the look of the film whilst I watched the trailer; it made me laugh and smile. Meryl Streep is fast becoming one of my favourite actresses, especially after her performance in ‘The Iron Lady’. (Read my review here)

It all begins with a rather confusing conversation where Jane’s (Meryl Streep) at party and talking to friends with her ex-husband (we weren’t to know yet) and they talk of a holiday some years ago, then in come walking her ex-husbands wife. Now one of the things I love in films is where the narrator is actually the thoughts of a person, in this case it was Jane. You almost immediately know it’s going to be an entertaining film when it’s narrated in this manner, simply because we think what we think – and nothing gets left out!

It’s a really nice film as it’s one that can be easily related to at whatever stage you’re at in life, it’s something you can imagine and where you can really feel for the characters.

So when her ex-husband is with a younger model with the perfect body she does feel a little flung to the side, (her face and narration said it all!) what with her youngest daughter leaving for college and left in a big house all by herself. But she has a successful business that she enjoys and she doesn’t mope – she has plans for her future. Everything about this film felt light, it was very pleasing and full of very big, dramatic, comical moments.

Jane busies herself with tasks like having an extension put onto her already big house and goes to a plastic surgeon which is highly hilarious but runs out after getting nothing done. Jane feels she’s at a time in her life where she can experiment and have fun. She’s free. She has a fantastic group of friends who are very supportive of her decisions and they’re very open and laugh about many silly things and scenarios. (It’s a girl group thing!) They tell her that she needs to date, before sharing and giggling over many sex jokes.

A funny thing about this film is that she always bumps into her ex, everywhere. The best thing to any Romantic Comedy is the chemistry between the main characters – without that it flops. Jane and Jake (Alec Baldwin) have amazing chemistry and are incredibly flirty for which is unusual to be with an ex, let alone an ex-husband. They meet at a bar one night in New York before their son’s graduation and they have a few glasses (bottles) of wine before they end up having sex. It’s a very strange concept when thinking about it during the film because you can understand it, yet at the same time you can’t. Simply because you think to yourself that they’re divorced. Now, there must have been something significant in the marriage to cause the divorce – and it hits you; life. Life happens and it gets in the way of what you probably felt for your partner in the very beginning and I think many people can relate to that situation.

They begin having an affair behind Jakes wife’s back – who he’s trying to have a baby with (just to make it more baffling). Meanwhile Jane is getting to enjoy the company of her Architect Adam (Steve Martin) who she also has fantastic chemistry with. So it is a hell of a twisted romance, but also, I could see how it might all happen.

Jake constantly keeps trying to crawl back to Jane which admittedly gets a little tiring, which I think ultimately pushes Jane towards Adam. Jane just feels like there’s unfinished business with Jake, what with them both sharing 3 children and a past. But, she wants something fresh and untainted – and that’s where Adam comes in. He’s a massive breath of fresh air after all the complications with Jake.

After realising that Jake isn’t what she really wants anymore, she falls into the arms of her beloved Architect, who is completely smitten with her, and the camera zooms out as to say ‘they all lived happily ever after’.

All in all it’s probably a very girly film, for a girly night in. But it was a very enjoyable watch and I’d definitely watch it again! I never feel a romantic comedy deserves a 5/5 simply as the storyline can become predictable. (However this one, I did wonder if at some point she’d end up with Jake) So really, it does have to be praised in the fact it didn’t quite end up how you’d imagine.