Its Complicated (2009)

"...both light on its feet and heavy enough to deliver something of a message.  Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
"...a fun and sweet romantic comedy...  Mike Scott, New Orleans Times-Picayune

Editor's Note Nancy Meyers directs this romantic comedy that stars Oscar-winner Meryl Streep as a woman torn between an architect (Steve Martin) and her philandering ex-husband (Alec Baldwin). IT?S COMPLICATED also features the comic prowess of John Krasinski, Lake Bell, Rita Wilson, and Mary Kay Place.

	Meryl Streep
	Alec Baldwin
	Steve Martin
	John Krasinski
	Lake Bell
	Mary Kay Place
	Rita Wilson
	Hunter Parrish
	Nancy Meyers - Screenwriter
	Nancy Meyers - Producer
	Scott Rudin - Producer
	Ilona Herzberg - Executive Producer
	Suzanne Farwell - Executive Producer
	Hans Zimmer - Composer
	Nancy Meyers - Director

Entertainment Weekly
"Streep plays an icon of an accomplished, radiant woman....Baldwin draws on his bank account of viewer love for his brilliant work on NBC's 30 ROCK to play a rich, assertive lawyer..." -- Grade: B- 12/18/2009

Box Office
4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] smart, sophisticated and downright hilarious comedy. Movies don't get any funnier than this -- at least the ones made for thinking adults." 12/16/2009

Chicago Sun-Times
"There's funny stuff here. We like everybody." 12/23/2009

New York Times
"Ms. Streep, mugging wildly if winningly, takes this character and makes you love her, just as Mr. Baldwin does with Jake..." 12/25/2009

Variety
"[The film] boasts a clever central premise and an enjoyably self-effacing comic turn by Alec Baldwin." 12/10/2009

Hollywood Reporter
"Streep is a vision of mature loveliness, a smart, sexy mom who always knows the right things to say to the kids and how to extricate herself from embarrassing situations." 12/10/2009

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "Martin flaunts his sensitive side; John Krasinski slyly pinches scenes...but the film belongs to its leads. Both gamely play up their physical flaws while sharing a tingly, tickly chemistry." 12/21/2009

Rolling Stone
"[T]he actors are consistently expert....And Baldwin, the consummate scene-stealer, goes comic devilry one better by adding a touching human dimension." 01/21/2010

Washington Post
"[A] very grown-up -- and very funny -- love story....[The comedy] manages to be both light on its feet and heavy enough to deliver something of a message." 12/25/2009

Sight and Sound
"[A] lively romantic comedy....[Meyers] has a knack for subverting the conventions of her genre..." 03/01/2010

ReelViews 7 of 10
For Nancy Meyers, whose Hollywood career began with screenplay and producer credits for Private Benjamin and whose first stint behind the director's chair occurred in 1998 with the Lindsay Lohan remake of The Parent Trap (back when Lohan was still a rising child star and not a tabloid sensation), It's Complicated illustrates how far she has come. Able to call her own shots and attract the best talent available in Hollywood, she has crafted a motion picture that does justice to both aspects of the "romantic comedy" genre. With a story that by turns defies and adheres to formulas, It's Complicated ends up being one of the end-year's best sources of pure entertainment. And for those who believe laughter is the best medicine, there's more than a bellyful or two to be found here...For the most part, It's Complicated is smartly written. One could argue the people are a little too self-aware, but that quality doesn't bother me - these are movie characters, not my next-door neighbors. That's not to say there aren't problems. The three adult children are arguably too well-adjusted for kids who grew up in the shadow of the massive dysfunction of their parents' marriage. The scenes between Jane and her female friends (played by repeat offenders like Mary Kay Place and Rita Wilson) contain cringe-inducing dialogue. It's as if Meyers invited Nora Ephron (circa 2009, not back when she was writing clever stuff like When Harry Met Sally) on board to scribe these scenes. They are trite and damage the film's smooth flow. The best thing about them is that there are only two, and neither lasts inordinately long...It's Complicated represents Meyers' most accomplished work to-date, and is a substantial upgrade over The Holiday. (To be fair, that movie imploded in part because of the grotesque miscasting of Jack Black as Kate Winslet's love interest.) Meyers unapologetically writes from a woman's point-of-view, and that quality makes her movies refreshing. She doesn't provide the same warmed-over clich?s that dominate male-fashioned movies of this sort. It's Complicated isn't perfect and the ending may be a little low-key for some to appreciate, but it provides as engaging a two hour period as Meyers has ever been responsible for, and is a tonic for those weighed down by the seriousness of "important" would-be Oscar contenders. - James Berardinelli