Divorce flick gets complicated

“It’s Complicated”

Starring: Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin

Director: Nancy… “It’s Complicated”

Starring: Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin

Director: Nancy Meyers

Studio: Universal Studios

Grade: A-

The only complicated thing about the holiday season’s best romantic comedy, “It’s Complicated,” is keeping a straight face while watching it.

High-profile films like “Avatar,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “Nine” and “The Princess and the Frog” are definitely burying “It’s Complicated,” but it is a diamond that is worth sorting through the heap for.

The humor is smart, silly and enjoyable. Men need not be turned away by the romantic comedy label, and neither should teenagers shun the movie for its cast of older actors. This film has a character and a situation for everyone to enjoy.

Academy Award-winner Meryl Streep is Jane, the ex-wife of Emmy Award winner Alec Baldwin’s Jake.

Along with their two daughters, Gabby (Zoe Kazan) and Lauren (Caitlin Fitzgerald), and Lauren’s fiancée Harley (John Krasinski), the proud but separated parents head to New York City for their son Luke’s (Hunter Parrish) college graduation. After a night of heavy drinking by both parental parties, the celebration gets considerably hotter and heavier than either of them anticipated.

Jane wakes up the next morning and realizes that the man she slept with is not only the one that she divorced ten years ago, but also the one that has since remarried.

Jake’s marriage to Agness (Lake Bell) is hardly happy. Jake spends most of his time in a fertility clinic catering to Agness’s desire for a second child.

The web gets even more tangled when the architect remodeling Jane’s house, Adam (Steve Martin), starts to develop feelings for her.

During the course of the illicit affair, Jane and Jake find themselves re-evaluating the dissolution of their marriage, while struggling to hide from their children and their surprisingly observant future son-in-law. By the film’s finale, the couple and the audience both are forced to change their perception of the relationship between two divorcees.

The film rightfully earned three Golden Globe nominations, including one for Best Picture and Best Actress for Streep. She portrays Jane as a woman believably struggling with the guilt of her newfound “other woman” status and the simultaneous reinvigoration of her sex life.

“The Office’s” John Krasinski proves that he is a versatile actor of the big and small screens by milking every one of his moments on screen for their full comic potential.

“It’s Complicated” may not have a $300 million budget or Penelope Cruz in a corset, but it is still a worthwhile and hot ticket nonetheless.