Baldwin broods, Streep lights up
The Age
Thursday January 7, 2010
IT'S COMPLICATED (M) 3/5118 minutes Jim Schembri Reviewer IT'S NOT just good porn movies that need money shots. Souffle-lite romantic comedy jaunts about ageing baby boomers rediscovering the joys of sex need them, too.In the latest life-begins-at-60 confection from writer/director Nancy Meyers (Something's Gotta Give), the big one comes courtesy of Meryl Streep as she gets high while sharing a doobie with Steve Martin during a children's party. It's a reasonably funny bit of shtick in a reasonably funny romp that toys with the notion of ageing gracefully.Streep plays Jane, a successful baker and divorced mother to three adult children. She spends much of her free time drinking wine with her late-50-something girlfriends as they measure out the holes in her life, the biggest being the lack of a man, which Jane reluctantly accepts as a fact of later life.At a family gathering, however, she feels a long-dormant passion for Jake (a scene-stealing Alec Baldwin), her ex of 10 years who has remarried a much younger woman. He feels the same. They hook up at a bar and promptly fall back into bed.This triumphant stampede back to her sexual comfort zone has Jane all aglow, for it not only gives her bragging rights over her friends but also serves as a well-aimed bit of inter-generational revenge on Jake's super-toned trophy wife, Agness (Lake Bell). Emotionally, things are tougher as Jake's renewed attentions compete for the affection Jane now has for Adam (Martin), a sedate architect.A delightfully cheesy Baldwin relishes every chance he gets to chew the scenery while John Krasinski (The Office) chimes in with a chipper supporting role as Jane's prospective son-in-law.But it's the playful energy of Streep's winning performance that carries the film, her character's late-life blossoming neatly reflecting her own late-career renewal.Meyers could have done plenty to honour her alluring title €” give the trophy wife some edge; better explain why Jane and Jake split; let at least one of their kids express a strong opinion about anything €” but she opts for crowd-pleasing gags about sex, secrets, middle-age insecurity and Baldwin's naked form.A well-judged dash of reality gives the high jinks some emotional ballast, but Meyers is smart enough not to let it in until the final reel as Jane realises that what's good for her libido isn't necessarily good for her. It's not deep, sure, but it's deep enough to make the whole affair work.
© 2010 The Age
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