It's not that great!

I was so looking forward to watching Nancy Myers' It's Complicated as I had enjoyed Something's Gotta Give and as it features Meryl Streep whom I admire. She is one of the very few actresses over 40 or even 50, whose name can open films and who seems to work continuously. Her beauty is not spectacular but she is instantly recognisable whilst wonderfully versatile and her expressive face doesn't seem to have resorted to plastic surgery (bar from a supremely skilled surgeon) or been botoxed into a waxwork of herself.

Unfortunately and in line with most critique I have read, I was underwhelmed by the film, a rather lightweight affair - forgive the pun, punctuated by "embarrassed chuckles" as a means of conveying the "complications" of the situation, over-acted by the starring couple, Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin. Still, there were some funny moments and it is refreshing to see a couple in their late 50s/early 60s starring in a film, being amorous, sexy, in bed and having a much more interesting life than their rather dull offspring. In any event, Mery Streep has had a stellar past couple of years and her film wardrobe runs the sartorial gamut.

I can only marvel at an actress who can convincingly wear couture (The Devil Wears Prada),

overalls (Mama Mia),

a nuns habit (Doubt),

 

1950ies outfits (Julie and Julia) and contemporary chic (It's Complicated)!:

In Julie and Julia,  she is not exactly a fashion icon and appears as a giant, frizzy-haired, bespectacled and apron-ed creature. However, the clothes are spot-on and her matronly appearance is belied on occasion by her high pumps and the unmistakeably sexy glint in her eye when she is in the same room as the wonderful Stanley Tucci, her film husband.

In Its complicated, sharing the screen with slick but rotund Alec Baldwin and white-haired and numb-looking Steve Martin (botox?), she appears as a successful Californian entrepreneur.  Her wardrobe is key according to director Nancy Meyers who wanted a certain look for her star: "I tracked down Sonia Grande, the Spanish designer of Vicky Cristina Barcelona, who didn’t speak English. I met her with a translator, and liked her immediately. I brought her pictures of the look I wanted for Meryl." as told to Anne Thomson: Anne Thompson's blog on Hollywood

The resulting look is decidedly sophisticated - silk, cashmere and good taste, but also quite boring. Meryl Streep looks like a rich housewife, not a hard-working bakery owner - we'd need a trace of eggs and flour somewhere,  and her clothes lack charm and personality in my opinion.  The wardrobe actually ties in very well with the aspirational and rather fake feel of the film - it's not that great but you might want to catch it on DVD with a group of girlfriends on a slow night. 

http://www.itscomplicatedmovie.com/