It’s Complicated

Bottom line: A grown-up rom-com for the menopausal classes.
Rating: 3/5.

Cast: Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin, John Krasinski.
Release Date: May 22nd 2023.
Format: DVD.
Certificate: 15.
Running Time: 115 mins.
Studio: Fabulous Films Ltd.
RRPP: £14.99.

Released on Christmas Day 2009, It’s Complicated became the surprise hit of the season— grossing $219.1 million worldwide and giving Writer/Director Nancy Meyers (The Holiday, What Women Want, Something’s Gotta Give) yet another impressive notch on her bedpost.

With a thriving bakery, a new romance, and her divorce finally behind her, Jane Adler (Meryl Streep) has her life all figured out… until her ex-husband, Jake (Alec Baldwin), decides he’ll stop at nothing to win her back.

However, It’s Complicated is a far cry from the usual rom-com. There are no starry-eyed lovers making passionate declarations in the rain. Rather, what Meyers delivers is a warm and funny drama aimed firmly at what Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian called “the menopausal classes”. 

The narrative is that we’re all terribly mature now. So, while a fling with an old flame may be good for the libido, Jane Adler is far too sensible to get carried away by a little bit of nostalgia. Especially when there’s a business to run, three kids to manage, and that house remodelling to think of… Which is a shame, because, frankly, women of a certain age need more whirl-wind romances and less worldly responsibilities.

Extras include:
The Making Of ‘It’s Complicated’.
Feature Commentary with Producer/Writer/Director Nancy Meyers, Executive Producer Suzanne Farwell, Director of Photography John Toll, ASC and Editor Joe Hutshing, ACE.