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Writer/director Nancy Meyers is an essential figure in a notoriously narrow-minded environment. With “Something’s Gotta Give” and “It’s Complicated,” a freewheeling comedy about a well-to-do restaurateur (Meryl Streep) who gets caught up in an affair with her married ex-husband (Alec Baldwin), the 60-year-old filmmaker presents stories about sexual, sought-after females who aren’t just over 50, but who refuse to be pinned down by society’s notions of how women of a certain age should behave and be perceived. You’d be hard-pressed to find another director willing to turn the spotlight on such women.
In fact, “It’s Complicated” offers some startling reminders of just how rare it is to see an older actress in a romantic role, such as during a post-coital scene in which we see a slight hint of flab peeking out over the band of Streep’s bra.
What a concept: A major movie starring a woman whose body isn’t perfect. Which is not to say Streep isn’t perfect in another vehicle showcasing the acting queen’s newfound box-office clout. (Her current film has grossed $60 million since its Dec. 25 opening.)
And who better than Meyers, the queen of female-friendly cinema, to be behind the wheel?
That Meyers lacks a certain degree of taste is what causes the overall value of her films to be commercial rather than artistic, despite her meticulous, Martha Stewart-like eye for handsome production details. She’s not above tossing in a quip about “The Hills,” which, if anything, makes her sound like an old lady straining to be trendy. And we can appreciate Streep’s un-Botoxed beauty without a tacked-on, cautionary trip to the plastic surgeon’s office. Too often, Meyers gets in the way of her own mission.
Largely, the humor and the actors’ handling of it is what makes “It’s Complicated” a fizzy if fleeting delight. As benign architect Adam pining for Streep’s affections, Steve Martin just kinda twiddles his thumbs, but Streep and Baldwin emerge as a hilarious comic dream team.
See this one for its change-of-pace heroine and because you’ll probably laugh til you cry. I did.
It’s Complicated
R
Three reels out of four
In area theaters now
The Hurt Locker
R
Available Tuesday
Tightly focused on a team of bomb-defusing soldiers in Iraq, “The Hurt Locker” is a testament to the awesome power of visuals. Showing masterful restraint, director Kathryn Bigelow creates white-knuckled suspense, silently and patiently holding on images of men handling IEDs that may well explode at any moment.
This is the best film yet about today’s Middle Eastern conflicts. It is utterly uncompromising, glorifies nothing, talks down to no one, brings eerie truths into perspective and still respects its subject matter. An indispensable movie.
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