December 25, 2009 in Features

‘Complicated’ is nice, but that’s about it

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Universal Pictures photo

Meryl Streep, left, stars as Jane and Alec Baldwin plays her ex-husband Jake in “It’s Complicated.” Universal Pictures
(Full-size photo)

Fresh from playing Julia Child in “Julie & Julia,” Meryl Streep heads back to the kitchen in “It’s Complicated,” this time making chocolate croissants onscreen as Jane, the owner of an upscale bakery/restaurant.

If only the craftsmanship in that cooking segment had been brought to bear on this film.

Writer/director Nancy Meyers (“Something’s Gotta Give,” “The Holiday”) never pushes for a hard truth when she can reach for an easy laugh. She’s like an industrial device, stamping out 100 percent pure-plastic midlife female fantasy.

Jane, an idealized fiftysomething, lives in a palatial empty nest. Long divorced from Jake (Alec Baldwin, with a lewd twinkle in his eye), she’s sending their youngest off to college.

When she and Jake cross paths at a garden party and fall into a comfortable rapport, each feels a forgotten spark. So the entanglements begin.

As promised, it gets complicated, with a series of discreet hookups concealed from the Adlers’ incredulous kids and Jake’s new wife (Lake Bell), a hard-bodied young nuisance.

It’s not really adultery, argues Jake (a lawyer, natch), if they’ve been married before. He falls in love with Jane all over again, intoxicated with their easy old-school intimacy.

As they rekindle the hearth fires, Jane draws the attention of her shy architect, Adam (Steve Martin), who’s designing an addition to her home. Torn between the men, she faces the decision of a lifetime.

Well, on paper anyway. Meyers never excites us emotionally or imaginatively. What sells “It’s Complicated” is its comforting, tame luxuriousness; clips of this film could be in-store promos for Crate & Barrel.

Baldwin is a good sport about being photographed in the buff and a sequence where he covers his vital parts with a laptop computer is as nicely done as anything in a Blake Edwards sex farce. And John Krasinski supplies funny reaction shots as the Adlers’ prospective son-in-law.

If you want to take your mother to a nice movie this weekend, this is probably the one she will like best. Unfortunately, there’s not an honest minute in it.

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