It's Complicated - Review

Meyers first success was What Women Want with Mel Gibson as a marketing executive struggling to save his job and relationship with his daughter. Through a stroke of luck, magic or mystery he is able to hear the inner thoughts of the female sex. Something's Gotta Give stars Diane Keaton's as a play write struggling through a block and her daughters relationship for an older man as well her own feelings for that older man, played by Jack Nicholas. Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet are best friends trying to deal with heart ache while getting away from their normal lives in The Holiday. With her latest release It's Complicated, Meryl Streep tries to find closure to her divorce and uncover the passion within that has been lacking for so long. In some way or another, her films tend to focus on the lead characters discovering the beauty and passion of female sexuality. This discovery of the female sexuality does not exclude Mel Gibson in What Women Want. Meyers writes a lot about women. Her films are often about the struggles, emotional, physical and social women face within the family, at work, in public and private. Despite being about women it is hard to for me to imagine that her films appeal to all women. All of her female characters are above the age of 35 with high profile professions and upper class lifestyles.

Blue collar doesn't really exist in the written world of Nancy Meyers. Most of her films take place in the glam of Hollywood or New York City or where those characters vacation. The good thing is that Meyers is able to write the characters with enough charm and humility that they seem endearing. Meyers films speak out for middle to upper class white people and that is a community dying for representation. Despite being a criticism, Meyers does deserve some praise for writing films for middle aged women, especially when Hollywood is a boys club and where many women have seen their work load diminish after the age of 40.

The real problem with It's Complicated is Nancy Meyers direction. She is a stronger writer than she is a director. That really is not saying much. She should explore the Woody Allen mode of directing. Allen relied on quality actors to deliver his unique dialogue. He would use a consistent of amount of medium-long shots and let his actors perform as if they were on stage. Unfortunately Meyers and her editor ruin much of her dialogue by over cutting the footage. Instead of just turning the camera on and letting her actors roam free with her dialogue, Meyers constantly cuts from actor to actor seemingly in between each line or transition of dialogue. The problem with this over editing is that much of the conversations in each scene never really flow and the some of the jokes lose their impact. It is unfortunate with talented actors like Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin along with a talented comedian like Steve Martin that she doesn't let them loose. This over editing does nothing but make natural acting seem more scripted.

Another fault of the film or of the people who make previews for films is that all the best moments are ruined by the preview. With that said, there weren't that many funny moments if most are spoiled in the preview. Their is a sequence where Streep and Martin get high while on their first date. It is funny but it feels like something we have seen plenty of times in goofier or raunchier comedies. Thank goodness John Krasinski, playing Streeps step-son supplies some comedic relief during the pot smoking sequence. Unfortunately it seems that much of Krasinski's comic talents are wasted and forced. As if his casting was a throw in to appeal to a younger audience that could care less about mid-50's romance.

It's Complicated is a comedy that is mildly entertaining but after the first view a second is hardly necessary. Meryl Streep proves that she can do anything, act any role and make even bland characters appealing. Streep is truly in a class of her own no matter how much she tries to downplay her talents.