If you have never seen the
'madcap' comedies of the 30s and 40s that starred Irene Dunne, "It's
Complicated" is in that genre. It is Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant all grown
up, with grown children, divorced in the third third of their life with the Gig
Young, Jimmy Stewart still the third man.

Now we  have Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve
Martin playing the lead roles. Streep and Baldwin have been divorced for 10
years, their three children are in their twenties and he is  remarried to a
'younger woman'--and the jokes fly from there, some bringing belly laughs, some
a guffaw and others a smile. There is nothing heavy here, nothing to dig behind
the scenes for drama. It's not the least bit complicated. Alec who cheated on
Meryl when they were married now cheats on his current wife with Meryl while the
latter is being pursued by Steve.

Jokes range from 'old'
folks getting high on pot, to seeing a cub's dream of a bear, Alec Baldwin, no
longer the buff young man he was or Meryl Streep no longer firm of body and worried
about a wandering eye brow. Some jokes will go over a younger audience's
head--though this movie is not aiming at them--like the Flomax bit--but this is not  subtle or
nuanced film. The comedy is slapstick, broad with lots, maybe too much, laughing by the
cast.

I am not a Streep fan as I always feel I see her
'acting' and she certainly goes overboard in this film in quite a few scenes and
overacts to a distracting degree and, yet, there are times she is spot on. Alec
Baldwin is dynamite, whether showing off his need to lose 30 pounds hairy body
or grinning like the Cheshire cat after bedding his ex-wife. His comedy timing
is impeccable and holds the whole film together. Steve Martin is bland, as Gig
Young was in his roles as the third wheel, and really doesn't make the ending
believable.

The roles of Streep's girl friends and her and Baldwin's
children plus Lake Bell's role as Baldwin's wife all are handled professionally
and the set designs of all the characters who live in the upscale territory of
Southern California or travel and stay at the best hotels in New York are first
rate.

"It's Complicated" is an easy going adult comedy
about people in their later years that will bring back 'they don't make movies
like they use to' to the present. Smile, laugh, giggle, poke your partner in the
side, sit back and enjoy. It's not a classic but it is a first rate comedy with
an above average performance by Alec Baldwin!!