Movie Review: Something's Gotta Give (2003)

A romantic comedy for adults, Something's Gotta Give is the equivalent of spending an evening with old friends: the entertainment flows smoothly, enhanced by good humour, great food, and an inevitable happy ending. It may go on for longer than it needs to, but time spent with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton is always pleasurable.

Harry (Nicholson) is a successful businessman in his 60s, dating the much younger Marin (Amanda Peet). Harry makes no secret of wanting to be in the company of younger women: he finds them much simpler to deal with and significantly less demanding. Marin's mother is the divorced Erica (Keaton), a famous Broadway playwright in her late 50s. Harry and Erica meet at her house in the Hamptons and they develop a healthy mutual dislike: she is uptight and judgemental, while he is all self-satisfied smarm.

But Harry suffers an unexpected mild heart attack and Erica finds herself babysitting him. Gradually they begin to care for each other. Marin notices and happily breaks up with Harry to leave the coast clear for her mother to nurture the romance, but Erica's love life gets further complicated when she also attracts the attention of the young and handsome Julian (Keanu Reeves), the doctor looking after Harry's heart health.

As time passes Harry and Erica fall truly in love, but he finds it difficult to commit and she finds it difficult to trust; for the relationship to survive both will need to take risks and venture into previously fenced-off territory.

Nicholson and Keaton slip into their roles with exquisite ease. They both convincingly depict adults blind-sided by love after having been certain that life carried no further surprises. Nicholson's performance starts with some scenery chewing, but gradually dials back as Harry comes to terms with his mortality and his first great romance. Nicholson holds Harry's hand and gently guides him through a transformation to a man overcoming hubris to plead for Erica's trust and companionship.

Keaton's performance is more nuanced, as is the fate of any role opposite Nicholson. Erica has experienced love and hurt, and has rigidly set-up her defences to prevent any future emotional damage. Initially she sees in Harry exactly the type of man she needs to avoid, but as he knocks down her fortifications she gradually recognizes in him an unlikely second opportunity for a grand romance.

Amanda Peet, Keanu Reeves and Frances McDormand (as Erica's sister) round out a formidable cast, but they do get nudged firmly into the shadows once Nicholson and Keaton take centre stage.

Nancy Meyers wrote, produced and directed Something's Gotta Give, the beginning of her journey to explore romance among mature adults which would continue with 2009's equally appealing It's Complicated. The romance of Harry and Erica takes more than two hours to unfold, and a solid 15 minutes could have been trimmed to remove unnecessary fat. But otherwise, the screenplay has the unmistakable focus of a single author's vision, Meyers putting to shame the all-too-common clumsy scripts written by committee.

Something's Gotta Give is playful, witty and memorable. It may carry some weight around the waist, but that is just in keeping with the realism of its central characters.

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Movie Review: It's Complicated (2009)

A romantic comedy for adults, It's Complicated proves that love, lust and laughs can live on well past age 40. Brightened by sparkling performances from Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, creating what must be one of the oldest love triangles in Hollywood history, It's Complicated is breezy, funny and remarkably fresh.

Jane (Streep) and Jack (Baldwin) divorced a decade ago. Now both in their late fifties with their three children all grown up, they maintain a civilized relationship. Jack is married to the much younger Agness (Lake Bell), with whom he cheated while married to Jane, although Agness also managed bring into her marriage to Jack a brat of a boy from another short-lived relationship.

Jane is over the divorce, still single and moving on with her life, helping to run the bakery that she owns, and planning home renovations with the help of Adam (Steve Martin), a more recently divorced architect. But when Jane and Jack (without Agness) meet in New York to attend the college graduation of their youngest son, they have dinner, drink a lot, dance like teens and end up in bed. This sparks a passionate desire in Jack to get back together with Jane, all the more so since his relationship with Agness has deteriorated into fertility clinic visits and scheduled sex to maximize the likelihood of conception.

Jane is not so sure that getting back with her ex-husband is a good idea, but she decides to enjoy the courtship and the suddenly enjoyable sex with Jack, as he tries to convince her that the second time can be a charm. In the meantime their children, who were traumatized by the divorce, are very confused, and Adam is getting all sorts of mixed signals about the potential for a serious relationship with Jane.

It's Complicated sometimes dips into swampy self-help territory, although it never gets bogged down. There is also a sequence with Jane and Adam getting stoned that crosses from funny to contrived. But otherwise, the film is a joyous celebration of the fun and turmoil of relationships later in life.

Meryl Streep, at age 60, gives one of her most alluring performances, conveying the courage, confidence and calm but not quite carefree attitude that only comes with the wisdom of age. Alec Baldwin is a bit more brash as Jack, but he does succeed in capturing a man looking for an anchor in his life and naturally drifting to the safety of the familiar harbour.

Both Streep and Baldwin demonstrate a deft comic touch, familiar territory to Martin, who subdues his natural scenery-eating tendencies and instead infuses Adam with effectively comic pathos. John Krasinki, as the fiance of Jack and Jane's eldest daughter, provides fine comic support as the first family member to stumble upon the weirdly re-emerging relationship between the formerly married couple.

Nancy Meyers herself around 60, directed, wrote and co-produced It's Complicated. She finds the right mix of comedy and sharp observations about divorce, growing old, and eternal insecurities, and maintains an agile pace.

It's Complicated is a strange and rare Hollywood experience: intelligent fun with adults.

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