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It’s Complicated – rm – Nancy Meyers , the writer and director of this film lives up to her reputation as the person who can connect with women over 40 and all those that know and care about her. Meryl Streep continues her streak as one of the most prolific and talented big name actresses on today’s screen , as she nails the role of a 50 something women who after 10 years of divorce has an affair with her ex-husband. She is appealing, sexy, intelligent, funny and poignant. The chemistry with her three children ( high school, graduating college and engaged to a great guy) is perfect. It is best described, as at one point she doesn’t take the suggestion to not answer her cell phone by saying, “ I have to answer the phone, I have three children.” Alec Baldwin, as the ex-husband, is a self centered successful attorney who married a young women half his age and now regrets it. His rekindled attraction to his ex-wife seems very real although he does over do it as the lout who wants one more chance. He can be funny and comedy is an important part of the film. Steve Martin who is a great comedian takes the low key role as the potential new boy friend for Streep and is much more sweet and kind than funny. The bottom line is that this movie is a great couples film especially for the over 40 crowd and deserves to be seen. (2009)

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Brief Interviews With Hideous Men – sp – This is a somewhat unusual film which uses a mostly non narrative style of brief interviews with men plus a series of disjointed scenes of interaction mostly between the young women researcher played by Julianne Nicholson and various men. There appears to be an attempt to provide insight into these men’s relationships with women and perhaps into their sexual feelings. The screenplay was written and directed by John Krasinski in his first movie who also acted in it. The content was taken from the writings of David Forster Wallace an essayist and novelist who died last year by suicide at the age of 46. He apparently has a large following that meet regularly on the Internet to discuss his obtuse writings. The acting in the movie was quite good and included Tim Hutton. The Director of Photography was renowned cinematographer John Bailey who was a guest at our screening. He described how three different editors all tried their hand at putting together this movie. In our opinion we don’t see the threads that this final version used. There was one small segment in the film, which seemed unrelated to the others but was quite riveting. It showed an older black man recounting the inner life and feelings of his father who worked for many years as an attendant in a high-end hotel men’s room. We will be surprised if this movie generates much momentum and may not even make it to your local screen. (2009)