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"IT'S COMPLICATED" (2009) (Meryl Streep, Steve Martin) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Extreme Minor Heavy Minor None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Heavy None None None Moderate Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Extreme None Heavy Heavy Minor QUICK TAKE: Romantic Dramedy: A middle-aged woman ends up having an affair with her remarried ex-husband, an unexpected development that complicates her budding attraction to a divorced architect who's redesigning her home. PLOT: Jane (MERYL STREEP) is a middle-aged woman who feels that she's finally come into her own. Yet, while her professional life has been a success owning and running a popular bakery, her love life hasn't actually been terribly active, a point discussed with her best friends including Joanne (MARY KAY PLACE), Trish (RITA WILSON) and Diane (ALEXANDRA WENTWORTH). They're concerned that ever since her divorce from her lawyer husband, Jake (ALEC BALDWIN), a decade earlier, she hasn't dated many men. Then again, she's been busy raising their three kids. Lauren (CAITLIN FITZGERALD) is engaged to Harley (JOHN KRASINSKI), while Gabby (ZOE KAZAN) is now moving out on her own. And Luke (HUNTER PARRISH) is about to graduate from college, meaning the family, including Jake, have gathered at a hotel for the big ceremony. It's there that Jane and Jake, after a few too many drinks and some dancing, end up in bed together. She's horrified, but he's ecstatic, not only because he's grown tired of fertility treatments as his younger wife, Agness (LAKE BELL), wants another child to join Pedro (EMJAY ANTHONY) who was fathered by another man, but also because he never really stopped being in love with Jane. The only problem is, she's developed a newfound attraction toward Adam (STEVE MARTIN), a mild-mannered and divorced architect who's working on redesigning and expanding her house. From that point on, and as she carries on her fling with Jake, Jane must decide if she wants to go back with him or start something fresh and new with Adam. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Unless they're older teens and/or fans of someone in the cast, it seems highly unlikely. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For some drug content and sexuality. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: MERYL STREEP plays a divorcee of ten years and successful bakery owner and operator who ends up having an affair with her remarried ex-husband, just as she starts to develop feelings for her architect. She tries to juggle the two but ultimately must decide between them. Along the way, she drinks some and has a night of getting high from smoking pot. ALEC BALDWIN plays her ex-husband who cheats on his new wife (for whom he originally left Jane) with his first due to tiring of fertility treatments with Agnes and feeling that he never fell out of love with Jane. He uses a little profanity, smokes pot and drinks some. STEVE MARTIN plays Jane's divorced architect who starts to develop feelings for her, but realizes he's competing against her past and present with her ex-husband. He ends up getting high with Jane and drinks some. JOHN KRASINSKI plays Jane's future son-in-law who's the first to discover the unlikely affair between Jane and Jake, but tells no one, and he does what he can to prevent his fiancee from learning about it. He briefly smokes pot in one scene and drinks some. LAKE BELL plays Jake's younger wife who's become obsessed with having another baby and thus comes off somewhat like a harpy to him in such regards. MARY KAY PLACE, RITA WILSON and ALEXANDRA WENTWORTH play Jane's best friends who commiserate, drink and talk sex with her. HUNTER PARRISH plays Jane and Jake's son who's just graduated from college. ZOE KAZAN plays his sister who's just moved away from home. CAITLIN FITZGERALD plays their older sister who's engaged to Harley. EMJAY ANTHONY plays Agness' somewhat bratty son who knows his stepfather is up to something. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a quick look at the content found in this R-rated romantic dramedy. Profanity consists of a handful of expletives, while various religious and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue, innuendo and other related material are present, while off-screen sex is implied before and after several scenes of couples in bed. Some women are seen scantly clad, while a man's full nudity is barely blocked by a laptop in front of his crotch (but there is a brief view of his bare butt). Various characters get high from smoking pot (in an extended sequence), while drinking occurs in various scenes (including some intoxication). A little bit of crude humor is present, as is potential imitative behavior and various bad attitudes. Those are mainly related to an affair, and that stems from past (and creates new) tense family material. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE People have drinks at an outdoor party, including Jane and Jake who raises a toast. As Gabby prepares to drive off, Jane reminds her that it's Saturday and people will be on the road drunk that night. Jane and her friends have wine. Miscellaneous people drink at a restaurant's bar, including Jane who first orders wine and then has a martini, while Jake has a drink. As the night progresses, we see them drinking more and more (wine and spirits) until they're intoxicated. They then end up dancing and then sleeping together in this state, while she later gets sick from the drinking. Jane, Jake, their kids and Harley have champagne and beer on the table in front of them at a restaurant, with Jake raising a champagne toast. Jane and her friends have wine by them. Adam and Jane have wine with dinner. Later, Jake shows up and has some wine. Jake asks Jane if she remember when they used to smoke pot and eat ice cream in the hot tub. He then asks when the last time was that she smoked some, and she says it was before Lauren was born. He then shows he has a joint and comments on it being amazing, but puts it in a bathroom drawer, saying he'll leave it for her and that they'll finish it together. Jane has wine before her planned but never realized date with Jake. Later, we see wine waiting on the table outside, but that's never touched. Harley pours wine for himself, asks if anyone's having any, and then pours more for himself when nervous. When Jake arrives, Harley asks if he wants some, and Jake says yes, but doesn't have any as he leaves (with a bottle in hand from Luke). Jane finds the joint from above in her bathroom drawer, and when she meets Adam at the door for their date, she's already high (including eating chocolate cake). Later, in his car, she asks if he smokes pot, and he says not before he had his kids. She then holds up the unlit joint, but a police car pulls up next to them. She notices the horrified look on Adam's face, turns, and then drops the joint before the cops see it. He then asks if she got this high from one hit and she replies she did, adding that she doesn't know what they did to pot in the past thirty years. Later, outside a party and behind a hedge, she lights up the joint, takes a hit, and then gives it to Adam who deeply inhales several times, saying "Bring it on" (being high), while a passerby asks, "Who's got the reefer?" Inside the party, both are quite high while also holding drinks (while others there drink, including Jake). When Jake and Jane go off into the bathroom to talk, she admits that she's stoned, and he says she was supposed to smoke that with him and not Adam. She then lights up, with Harley walking in on them, asking if they're smoking weed in the guest bathroom. She then asks if he wants a hit, and he initially refuses, but then smokes from it, followed by inhaling pot smoke that Jake blows out from his mouth. Later, one of the daughters comments on them acting hammered, with Harley saying it's something like that. Luke admits not remembering Harley and Lauren driving him home from the above party. BLOOD/GORE Jane vomits from having too much to drink (heard, and we then see her by the toilet, putting her head in that again for another round). Jake tells a doctor he's on a prescription medication or else he pees 40 times a day. While doing a video chat on their laptops, Jane suddenly states she has to pee, with Adam saying the same on his end. Both get up and leave for their respective bathrooms, but nothing is seen or heard. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE About having to deal with Jake being married to someone else, Jane jokes with Joanne that the latter should be happy her husband is dead (meant as a joke, but still insensitive). We hear that Jake cheated on Jane with Agness, followed by Agness cheating on him with another man (and getting pregnant), but then coming back to Jake. Jake cheats on Agness by having an affair with Jane. Jane tells various white lies (such as to her daughter on the phone about not knowing where Jake is, and to Adam about having plans for the evening). Jake admits to Jane that he left Agness for her. FRIGHTENING SCENES When Jake and Jane meet in a hotel for sex, he ends up unexpectedly collapsing on the floor, necessitating the need for a doctor's visit, but Jake is okay (and this is all played fairly lightly). GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Due to crowd laughter drowning out some dialogue, the following should be considered a minimum: Phrases: "A complete pr*ck," "That was one crazy ride" (sexual), "I thought it was smoking hot" (sexual), "A very big ho," "Turns out I'm a bit of a slut," "His eyes were glued to your ass," "Yes, I like a lot of semen," "Hey gangsta," "They grow up so freaking fast," "(That's) Nuts" (crazy), "I'm a walking cliche," "This is very French of us," "Karma is the ultimate bitch," "What do you have, X-ray ears?" "Oh shut up," "None of my beeswax," "Bring it on," "Who's got the reefer?" "I'm stoned" and "You were pissy." Agness has a large tiger tattoo on the back of her shoulder. Jake spies (through the window) on Adam and Jane having dinner, but then falls backwards in the shrubs (we don't see the impact on the ground - played for slapstick style laughs). Various characters (several middle-aged, one younger) get high from smoking pot. While making croissants, Jane playfully places two strips of pastry down over her clothed chest that she then shakes. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY Due to crowd laughter drowning out some dialogue, the following should be considered a minimum: At least 1 slang term for sex ("did it"), 1 using male genitals ("pr*ck"), 1 ass, 10 uses of "Oh God," 6 of "Oh my God," 2 of "Swear to God" and 1 use each of "God" and "My God." SEX/NUDITY Due to crowd laughter drowning out some dialogue, the following should be considered a minimum: Agness walks out at an outdoor party wearing what looks like a bikini top, showing cleavage, with the camera briefly focusing close on her slightly sashaying body. We hear that Jake and Agness are undergoing fertility treatments. One of Jane's friends says that Jake was a "pr*ck" for cheating on her, with Jane joking that Agness runs the marketing department at KY (the maker of personal lubricants). Trish then says that it's not healthy for Jane to not have sex for however long it's been, with Jane saying it's not like she's avoiding that on purpose. Another friend then says she heard of some woman who didn't have sex for so long that her vagina closed up, grew back together, and she had to have vagina-plasty (making all of them laugh about the thought of that). About Jake going through fertility treatment with Agness, Jane asks if it's sperm issues and he replies it apparently is. While intoxicated, Jane and Jake dance, and we next see them lying side by side in bed, post-sex. His shirt is open and one half of her bra is exposed, while her lower half is below the sheets. He comments on that being "one crazy ride," that he thought they were going to break the bed, thought it was "smoking hot" and that he likes that she stopped getting bikini waxes. That's followed by him saying something (drowned out by audience laughter) as he playfully puts his hand on the sheet right at her crotch. She then gets up and is sick in the bathroom. About something Jake said, Jane says he pulled that out of nowhere, but he suggestively says he didn't pull it out of nowhere, telling her she knows what he means (referring to their previous sexual encounter). Adam listens to a tape about divorce where the speaker says one must accept your ex for who she is, with Adam chiming in, "A very big ho." Jane shows a little cleavage while leaning over. Jane tells Jake they can't do what they did (have sex) ever again, with him asking if she had fun at the bar, then the dancing and then after the dancing (sex). He then says that she was great, so loose and so sexy. Jake playfully picks up Jane and starts to walk off, followed by a view of the sprinklers coming on (an orgasm visual), and then the view of them in bed, post-sex, under the sheets (we see his bare chest). She then wants to switch sides on the bed, with him crawling over her, stopping on top and asking, "Can I interest you in a little..?" with her playfully saying no. He then asks why sex is so much sexier this time (than when they were married), as the sheet is barely covering her chest. When she starts to get up, however, she wants him to look away, saying that time has passed since he last saw her naked and that things (meaning her body) look different lying down. He then asks if she remembers when they didn't have time for sex, and that they've now already had sex twice so early in the week. He then says that their situation is very French of them in that he has a young wife and has sex with his old wife. Upon leaving, Jake thanks Jane for "the coffee" while making a sex gesture with his hands. Jane tells her friends (including Trish who shows some cleavage) that she has new energy from all of the sex she's having, lets on that she's having an affair, and that they "did it" in the hotel and then back at her house. She adds that they might have had sex more than once at the hotel but she was drunk (prompting a friend to ask in disbelief about drunken sex), adding, "Turns out I'm a bit of a slut" and that she has an ex with (sex) benefits. We see Agness in a camisole and panties. While spying (through the window) on Jane and Adam having dinner, Jake looks at Jane's clothed butt, and later comments on noticing Adam was looking at the same ("his eyes were glued to your ass"). Jake comes over to see Jane, telling her he loves it when she smells of butter. Jane then asks about Jake's excuse for not being with Agness, and he replies that it's yoga, suggestively asking Jane if she wants to do some downward facing dog. Jane is in a bubble bath, but we don't see anything. Jake tells Jane that they don't even have to have sex and it's fun. He then kisses her shoulder and neck in her robe, and then on the mouth, but a phone call interrupts them. Jake goes into the fertility clinic to donate sperm, with the nurse telling him about the TV remote, the (unseen pornographic) materials in the drawer, and for him to fill the cup she hands him. We then see him with his pants down (in boxers), but he gets a call from Jane to meet him. He agrees, but we don't know if he finishes the business at hand. Jane and Jake meet for sex in a hotel room, and we then see them in robes, with her dropping his. We only see the top of her bare back (and bare feet down below), but he apparently sees everything and then collapses on the floor (played for comedy). When a doctor later examines him in the room, Jake comments on a medication he's taking that reduces his semen, and that it's not good for his wife. The doctor thinks he's referring to Jane (rather than Agness), with her then chiming in that she likes a lot of semen. As the doc leaves, he tells Jane no "hanky panky." Jane asks Jake if he and Agness are still having sex, and he replies only when she initiates it. Agness tells Jake to hurry back to bed as she's ovulating (and she removes her top to reveal her cleavage-revealing bra). While making croissants, Jane playfully places two strips of pastry down over her clothed chest that she then shakes. Adam and Jane passionately kiss while seated in her restaurant. While doing a video chat on their laptops from their respective homes, Jane suddenly states she has to pee, with Adam saying the same on his end. When both are gone, and not realizing the computer connection is on, Jake sneaks into Jane's bedroom, strips naked (we don't see anything explicit) and then lies on the bed, with the open laptop computer covering his crotch area. Jane returns and is shocked by this, as is Adam in his home since his laptop screen view is a close-up of Jake's crotch (we don't see it). Jake then turns and bends over to pick up his clothes and we then see a close-up of his bare butt on the computer screen. SMOKING None (beyond the pot smoking listed under "Alcohol/Drugs"). TENSE FAMILY SCENES We hear that Jane and Jake have been divorced for 10 years, and are now amicable (while, we later learn, they weren't always that way during the breakup). We hear that Jake cheated on Jane with Agness, followed by Agness cheating on him with another man (and getting pregnant), but then coming back to Jake. Adam listens to a tape about divorce where the speaker says one must accept your ex for who she is, with Adam chiming in, "A very big ho." We hear that Adam has been divorced for a few years. Adam states that his wife fell in love with his best friend while they were on vacation. Jake admits to Jane that his marriage to Agness has not turned out the way he thought it would be. Agness realizes Jake is still in love with Jane and doesn't look happy about this discovery. Jake admits to Jane that he left Agness for her. Luke tells his parents (who divorced when he was 12) that he doesn't remember them ever being happy together. Jane and Jake's adult kids are confused and disturbed by the possibility that their parents are involved with each other again. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Divorce and the effect that has on the couple as well as their kids. Jane tells Adam that the second sink in her bathroom makes her feel bad (reminding her of her failed marriage from the past). The comment that Jake and Jane grew into the people they wanted each other to be. Fertility issues. Sex and middle-aged (and older) people. VIOLENCE Jake spies (through the window) on Adam and Jane having dinner, but then falls backwards in the shrubs (we don't see the impact on the ground - played for slapstick style laughs). Reviewed December 15, 2009 / Posted December 25, 2009

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