It’s Complicated
starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin
written and directed by Nancy Meyers
Rating: ♦◊◊◊◊
Stories of marital sex are boring. The money is in the taboo sex.
A divorced husband and wife reunite for a fling ten years after their separation, when the last of their three children is graduating from college. Their liaison is complicated by the reality of their new lives: he is re-married; she is seeing another man. I admit that human relationships, especially sexual relationships, courting and mating rituals are complex and liable to blatant display as much as to subtly. But the issues in this story seems clear cut to me. The ex-husband is re-married, so returning to his ex-wife’s bed is a big no-no. Regardless of any confused residual feelings each might be feeling towards the other they are both mature enough that they ought to know this.
On another note, stories of marital sex are boring. The money is in the traditional taboo sex scenarios: pre-marriage and extra-marriage. Sex between late-fifty-somethings who used to be married to each other and who ought to know better is even more boring than straight marital sex itself. I thought a lot of talent was wasted in this film.