Finally got to see It’s Complicated and I loved it! The movie stars Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin as divorced parents of three adult kids who “reconnect” during an out of town trip. To complicate matters, Baldwin is currently married to his former mistress and Streep is being courted by her architect, played by Steve Martin.
I loved It’s Complicated because at 60 Streep is beautiful, because of her droopy eyelids not in spite of them (one of the funniest scenes in the movie.) I loved it because even in their late 50’s, adults do stupid things, are tempted to repeat the mistakes of the past and are still vulnerable when it comes to matters of the heart. I loved it because there’s a little part of me that (I’m ashamed to admit) was happy that the new, much younger wife go a taste of her own medicine.
Women all over the country looked forward to the movie’s release because it was the first time in a long time we’ve seen men in their 50’s dating and being attracted to women their own age on the big screen. But the movie’s about much more than that. It’s about relationships ending and us wondering whether they should have. And it’s about dealing with the fallout of divorce and the reality that adult children of divorce are affected by it, even years later.
It’s also about how we sometimes re-imagine past relationships, romanticizing them and their consequences and in doing so, miss out on something fabulous that’s waiting for us in the present. It can be easy, especially when you’re single or unhappy in your current relationship, to wonder about the “one that got away” and reminisce about the good times, completely forgetting whatever valid reasons you had to end the relationship in the first place. The opposite can also be true – settling for, and into, a relationship that makes you completely miserable for fear that this is as good as it gets.
Whether you’re in something and trying to get out or watching from the sidelines and trying to get in, you’ll take your mindset with you wherever you go. Whatever your current station in life, if you’re waiting on something or someone to make you happy – whether that’s waiting to be married or waiting to be single – you might find yourself waiting a lifetime. Remember the old saying “wherever you go, that’s where you are?” It’s trite but true. Changing your status in life, doesn’t change who you are at your core, only you can do that. The fact is, it all can be very complicated – relationships, love, happiness – if it were easy, finding it wouldn’t be our life’s work. But at the end of the day as complicated as it all is, it is worth it.
Anyone else see the movie? How did you feel about it? Share your thoughts in the comment section or on our Facebook fan page.
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