It's Complicated

With their son graduating from college and their daughter planning her own wedding, it's inevitable that Jane Adler (Meryl Streep) keeps running into her ex, Jake (Alec Baldwin), who left her 10 years ago to marry an overtly aggressive, much younger woman (Lake Bell). During the intervening time, Jane built a successful confectionary in Santa Barbara, CA, and now she's enthusiastically planning an extensive addition to her stunning Spanish hacienda-style home. Jane has finally come to terms with being a divorcée—until the evening she unexpectedly finds herself alone at a hotel in Manhattan with Jake, where the wine flows, sparks fly, and suddenly Jane is “the other woman.” Concealing this farcical, illicit situation leads to frustration and confusion for Jane and Jake's grown children (Caitlin Fitzgerald, Hunter Parrish, Zoe Kazan), a prospective son-in-law (John Krasinski), and Jane's current suitor—recently divorced architect Adam (Steve Martin)—but it serves as fun-filled fodder for Jane's gleeful girlfriends (Rita Wilson, Mary Kay Place, Nora Dunn, and Alexandra Wentworth). Writer-director Nancy Meyers here concocts a deliciously loony escapade, full of humor, heart, and clever observations about relationships. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by writer-director Nancy Meyers, executive producer Suzanne Farwell, cinematographer John Toll, and editor Joe Hutshing, a “making-of” featurette (21 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a decent extras package for an entertaining comedy.] (S. Granger)