487: It’s Complicated

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: 194 Let's get to a random film, which is Its Complicated from 2009, written and directed

[00:00:11] [SPEAKER_00]: by Nancy Meyers, stars Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin, John Krasinski, like

[00:00:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Bell, few others, and the snups is When Attending Their Sons College Graduation, a couple reignite

[00:00:28] [SPEAKER_00]: the spark in their relationship, but the complicated fact is they're divorced and he's remarried.

[00:00:35] [SPEAKER_00]: So I saw this one in full only maybe six months ago, had maybe seen it when I was younger,

[00:00:43] [SPEAKER_00]: like with my mom who had watched it possibly, but I knew bits and pieces of it but had never

[00:00:48] [SPEAKER_00]: watched it all the way through on my own.

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_00]: I like Nancy Meyers a lot. She's done the holiday, the intern, some things gotta give, and love

[00:01:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Meryl Streep, and I do really like Alec Baldwin, although it's very sad what has happened to

[00:01:06] [SPEAKER_00]: him with this legal case, although that's now been thrown out.

[00:01:12] [SPEAKER_00]: With Nancy Meyers, I really put her in the same category as someone like Judd Apatow who

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_00]: did 40 year old Virgin knocked up where they're able to create a very realistic tone and how

[00:01:24] [SPEAKER_00]: people speak and act in real life situations, which it's easy to take that for granted.

[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_00]: But in this kind of movie or like in the holiday, they feel like real people and the

[00:01:35] [SPEAKER_00]: comedy and then the drama within the same scene or within just the same movie feels

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_00]: authentic as much as it can. Although of course, things are still a little romanticized

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_00]: and stuff like that, but she is really one of a kind in that way or at least one of the

[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_00]: best. Didn't know much about the movie in terms of plot and from what I've read it's

[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_00]: one of the lesser movies I think in terms of Nancy Meyers fans. And I think I'm sort

[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_00]: of there. I've seen all of her movies, at least directed movies at this point,

[00:02:10] [SPEAKER_00]: I believe I still enjoyed it for sure. But it mainly hinges on people like Meryl Streep

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_00]: and the cast as opposed to the story itself where I think what brings it down is that

[00:02:23] [SPEAKER_00]: for example, in the holiday, you have the core four characters who are just vacation

[00:02:30] [SPEAKER_00]: house swapping and they get involved with various people. And then, for example, Kate

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Winslet in that movie, she meets Jack Black who is in a relationship, but she doesn't

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_00]: try to engage or to ignite something considering he's already involved. But then later on in

[00:02:50] [SPEAKER_00]: that movie spoiler, he gets cheated on so then you have more sympathy for him. And then

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_00]: they allude to a relationship later. But in this both Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_00]: while yes they were previously married, they're now both cheaters. You know, she's cheating

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_00]: on him while he's with another woman and then vice versa for him. And so it's harder to

[00:03:20] [SPEAKER_00]: create more sympathy or relatability to them as opposed to if they were just reigniting

[00:03:29] [SPEAKER_00]: their marriage, but they weren't hurting anyone in the process. So I think that is by far, I

[00:03:35] [SPEAKER_00]: don't mind if you want to tell a story about people cheating or having affairs, you know,

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_00]: there's a lot of comedy in it for sure. But the fact that this is a two hour long movie

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_00]: and the core of the movie is Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin being together, it's harder to

[00:03:53] [SPEAKER_00]: stay fully connected and root for them, which maybe that's not what you're supposed to do,

[00:03:59] [SPEAKER_00]: I guess. But it's a weird, somewhat confused message for the movie. I'm like, All right,

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_00]: am I supposed to feel sorry for them? Am I supposed to like them? It's a little in the

[00:04:11] [SPEAKER_00]: middle. So that brings the movie down for sure. It is a little long overall. Most Nancy

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Meyers movies are longer than they need to be. But at the same time, that's why I relate her to

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Judd Apatow where they can take what would normally be a generic 90 minute romantic comedy and make

[00:04:32] [SPEAKER_00]: it two hours and 15 minutes and really add more character and more depth and world building,

[00:04:38] [SPEAKER_00]: so to speak. So I don't mind that it's that long. But I think this one, it warranted

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_00]: the longer runtime, the least of a lot of the other films that she's made.

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_00]: But besides that, performances across the board are great. John Krasinski's character is a favorite

[00:04:56] [SPEAKER_00]: for sure where he's noticing Alec Baldwin and Meryl Streep in their secrets. But he does his

[00:05:05] [SPEAKER_00]: best to stay out of it and to shield the rest of the family, at least in some ways. So

[00:05:10] [SPEAKER_00]: that's a very enjoyable character. And there are a lot of very funny moments. I think one of the

[00:05:15] [SPEAKER_00]: best is when he sees Meryl and Alec at the hotel, when he's with his, I guess, fiance or wife or

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_00]: whoever it is. So that's really funny. The times where Alec Baldwin just shows up and

[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_00]: causes trouble. That's usually entertaining. And I really do like Steve Martin in it. He's

[00:05:34] [SPEAKER_00]: great in everything. It's hard not to like Steve Martin, but I really enjoy his character.

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_00]: So if there's anyone involved in this movie that you like or you like this sort of film, I would

[00:05:47] [SPEAKER_00]: definitely check it out for sure. You could do a lot worse. And there's still a lot of things to

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_00]: think about. And it's just enjoyable being in a Nancy Meyers movie, even if it's dealing with

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_00]: things that aren't okay, just being in that world with some of those characters and in that

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_00]: tone. Always appreciate that about her. And yeah, that is a light three and a half out of five.