 Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin star as a divorced couple who have an affair in “It's Complicated.” Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures.
IT’S COMPLICATED (Rated R)
During the holiday season, it’s gratifying that the movies are not just about CGI chipmunks, blue-skinned aliens and the occasional animated frog. Surprisingly, movies even exist for a more adult, mature audience.
A case in point is the romantic comedy “It’s Complicated,” starring actors of a certain age fast approaching senior citizen status.
Meryl Streep won’t even pretend to be under 50, inasmuch as her long-divorced character Jane Adler is eager to rebound, though we have to wonder if she’s capable of making the right decisions.
But with Streep continuing her recent trend of portraying women in less heavy roles, mistaking “It’s Complicated” for sophisticated drama is unlikely.
That’s just fine for writer-director Nancy Meyers (“Something’s Gotta Give”), who clearly favors the female perspective and enjoys putting established figures into some lightweight material, albeit with more mature dialogue than is normally found in the modern romantic comedies geared to a crowd that hasn’t reached middle age.
Joining Streep’s Jane in a triangle love affair are Alec Baldwin as her ex-husband Jake and Steve Martin as Adam, a local architect looking to bounce back from a failed marriage.
With her last daughter leaving home for college, Jane finds that after 10 years of divorce she yearns ever so slightly for some companionship. The occasional gossip sessions with old girlfriends that include Rita Wilson and Mary Kay Place have limited value for her, as well as for the audience.
Fate, however, brings Jane and Jake together during a trip to New York City for their son’s college graduation. Remarried to the much younger Agness (Lake Bell), Jake is restless and bored, because his new wife is shallow and annoying. For his advanced age, Jake also has a raging libido and takes advantage to initiate a secret affair with his ex.
Upon return to bucolic Santa Barbara, where Jane runs a successful bakery/restaurant, Jake pursues a fitful relationship with Jane, hiding it from their kids as well as his spouse. Meanwhile, Adam is increasingly attracted to Jane, all the while moving forward with a major remodeling job of her stately home.
Befitting the movie’s title, there are plenty of complications in the emerging triangular relationship, much of it very humorous. Jake’s seduction scene, where his naked body is discretely screened by the presence of a well-placed laptop, is one of the film’s best laugh-out-loud moments.
Sparkling dialogue and good laughs are not the sole high points of “It’s Complicated.” Nancy Meyers has structured the plot with enough twists and complications to keep the audience guessing about its final resolution, and that’s commendable.  George Clooney and Anna Kendrick star in “Up in the Air.” Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
UP IN THE AIR (Rated R)
I’ve never been a particularly huge fan of George Clooney, though admittedly he’s starred in some quite good movies, the latest one being “Up in the Air.”
This is a film that has been building considerable buzz, which is the sort of thing that signals potential great things to happen during the Oscar awards season.
I don’t much care if “Up in the Air” wins a slew of little gold statues, but I am here to tell you that this is a brilliant film that mixes comedy and drama with a potent efficiency that is usually not easily achieved.
Director Jason Reitman (“Juno”), sharing screenplay credit with Sheldon Turner, knows how to deliver well-developed characters that shine in well-placed situations.
Clooney’s Ryan Bingham, rootless and restless, is a hired gun flying around the country personally delivering the bad news to employees being laid off from their corporate jobs.
When not acting as a job executioner, Ryan keeps busy with his motivational seminars. After all, this is a guy on a quest to achieve the elite status of 10 million frequent flyer miles, which explains that his life consists almost entirely of living in airport lounges, airplanes and airport hotels.
Ryan’s carefully crafted world of constant movement is threatened when his boss (Jason Bateman) starts listening to young hotshot Natalie (Anna Kendrick), who figures the company no longer needs a traveling layoff artist when the Internet can do the job cheaper and quicker.
Since he wants to preserve his lifestyle, Ryan takes Natalie on the road to prove that the personal touch is more humane and responsible.
Meanwhile, Ryan meets his match with the sexy Alex (Vera Farmiga), a fellow corporate travel junkie who enjoys airports and hotel bars as much as he does. Soon, they are in the throes of passion whenever airline schedules permit a fleeting rendezvous.
“Up in the Air” is disconcerting in that it offers a harsh look at the dehumanizing treatment of corporate layoffs, even while mining some gallows humor.
Even more upsetting is how chaos is introduced into Ryan’s structured existence. Not only does he clash with Natalie’s rigid view of rearranging the downsizing business model, Ryan is tossed for a loop in the possibility that he could find a measure of permanence with his female counterpart on the road circuit. For good measure, Ryan has been estranged from his own family, but finds himself pulled into the upcoming wedding of his sister.
It’s tricky and challenging to explain “Up in the Air” in a way that does justice to its inspired and exceptional mixing of devastating satire, subdued drama and incandescent humor.
This bright, radiant film needs to be experienced firsthand, as I don’t want to reveal certain plot elements. There’s a complex beauty to the sophisticated dialogue and the attendant requirement that the actors must as a result of the smart script deliver multifaceted performances that are credible and real.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News. |
