Kinda cute romantic comedy about Meryl Streep as a divorcee who tackles an affair with her married ex-husband, who is played by Alec Baldwin. Baldwin's gut steals the film. Yeah, I said it. His 51 year old fat fucking stomach is so deliciously obtrusive, so gloriously round and rotund, that this movie ended up being a pleasant experience for me. It helps that his wonderful belly is surrounded by charming acting talent that has been cultivated over a long career of leading man roles that he has elevated through charisma alone; this is no exception. All man-crushes aside, he is truly the most alive aspect of this film, where everyone else seems to be going the motions. Meryl Streep's character, and performance, are cute and effective, but nothing sensationally original. Same with Steve Martin's character; the various scenes of him trying to get over his insecurities in order to court Streep could've had much more pathos had the filmmakers let him make the character more personal, and less cliched and cuddly.
But alas, that is my critique of the whole film. There is a cute romantic comedy in here, about a complicated, mature relationship and its repercussions on an existing family and lifestyle. However, Baldwin leaves his wife, and the film carries on for another half an hour with uninteresting, unnecessary wrap ups that contradict the behavior of the characters in the more enjoyable early scenes. That being said, the film does contain a great 2nd act scene where all the major characters interact, and, after a series of events, we get to see Baldwin shotgun a joint into John Krasinski's mouth. My man-crush is deep enough for that kinda shit to thoroughly work on me.
Slightly Recommended for couples of a respectable age and mindset. Everyone else should stay away.
P.S. Everyone is hilariously wealthy and comfortable in this film; it is not, at all, indicative of the times we live in...right?
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