It's Complicated

She's considered the most powerful female writer/director/producer working today, but asks Kimberly Gadette, does Nancy Meyers' latest mature rom-com deliver?

While lush sci-fi forests, sexy musicals or Disney cartoons are the perfect escape for some, a two-hour visit to one particular woman's upper-class land of loving adult children, who's got enough cash on hand to remodel an already gorgeous home on the Santa Barbara coast, whose face doesn't scream out for plastic surgery even while nearing her sixth decade ... well, that's a fantasy of a whole other dimension. Throw in two suitors fighting for said woman's slightly-aging hand and while, thank heavens, this isn't the witless Mamma Mia!, it certainly fits the bill for a spirited romantic comedy with three strong leads who can do any number of brilliant comedic turns in their sleep. Or in their kitchens. Or in an assortment of beds, where the fun truly heats up.

The romantic comedy, still a delight when done well, has served as both an ache and a promise for untold millions who believe, or secretly want to believe, that their special someone is around the very next corner. And for the divorced, the rueful or never married, those well into their middle ages or older, the idea that there still may be a special someone is even more concomitantly cheered and jeered. The years are passing, the kids grown, the bodies soft; isn't it simply too late for romance?

In the cinematic universe that is governed by queen filmmaker Nancy Meyers: absolutely not.

In Meyers' screenplay, ten years have passed since Jane (Meryl Streep) and Jake (Alec Baldwin) called it quits. But, as per Meyers, their relationship "never really ends: the bumping into one another, figuring out how to still parent together, how to live in the same town together. I noticed how much the word 'together' still exists once you’re divorced." Factor in the second trophy wife (Lake Bell) who expects Jake to give her a child – the film does a merry skewer of the fertility clinic littered with old husbands and twentysomething wives – and suddenly Jake longs for the easy, comforting arms of Jane, his dear old Number One. Since Jake cheated on the first wife with the second, it seems that turnabout is more than fair play.

With the blush of secret romance rearing its rosy head, Jane is now radiating pheromones left and right – which catches the attention of her shy architect Adam (Steve Martin), who's been using lame self-help tapes to ease the pain of his own divorce. And so the games begin, the affairs criss-crossing while the three grown children and Jake's current wife try to keep up. John Krasinski offers up great comic timing as the eldest daughter's guileless fiancé who keeps running into things he'd rather not see.

By wisely casting Streep, Meyers gets to plumb far deeper levels of the single woman. Streep's Jane is not just a funny lady: we see the frustration of turning invisible after a certain age. Without a shred of self-pity, she reveals that his-and-her sinks in her bathroom make her feel bad. And then she glances over at a couple in a passionate embrace in a shared elevator, or at the unused bed in her hotel room – and we can tangibly perceive the emptiness.

As Jane's ex-husband, Baldwin's Jake is a lovable opportunist with the lawyer's gift of speech, easily bending arguments his way. While his dramatic strength hasn't lessened, Baldwin has recently carved out a wild niche for himself as a pompous clown (SNL, 30 Rock) teetering right on the edge of cardboard before he reels himself back in. A sweet first date between Jane and her new friend Adam nearly unravels each time the camera cuts back to Baldwin's Jake, engaged in a frenzied sneak through the foliage. He's no good for Jane, not really – but he's so damn funny and charming, we want to him to linger as much as we want him to leave.

In other films, Martin's quiet, grounded performance would have been quite touching. But in this particular isosceles triangle, he comes up on the short side.

It is unfortunate that due to lesser films crowding the marketplace, the "rom-com" genre has suddenly become an industry pariah. If the script is snappy, if the characters compel and if the laughs are earned, then romantic comedies have as much a place in our collection as good sci-fi, adventure, suspense, fantasy, dramas, etc. As for this film: it may not be all that complicated and yes, it's a femme fantasy – but it speaks to some real issues about growing up and growing smart, no matter how chronologically old you may be. Even better ... your mom will love it!

Rating on a scale of 5 sunny sides of the Streep: 4

Release date: US: 25 December 2009; UK: 8 January 2010
Written and directed by: Nancy Meyers
Cast: Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin, John Krasinski, Lake Bell, Mary Kay Place, Rita Wilson, Alexandra Wentworth, Hunter Parrish, Nora Dunn
Rating: US = R; UK = 15
Running time: 119 minutes