It's Complicated

White people behaving richly. That is one way to look at this movie. Do YOU have anyone in this movie YOU can relate to? That does not make it a bad movie by any means. In fact it is a good story very well told.

Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin play a divorced couple who make attempts to reconnect. Steve Martin plays the third side of this odd triangle. There are adult kids involved here too, and John Krasinski does a great job as the comic relief tasked son-in-law.

Some might think many of these characters are sorely underacted. But I believe their characters are fairly well played. Many SoCal residents are not all that interesting to anyone other than themselves. Sorry neighbors - we don't make inspire much in each other.

That all said, there is a large group of middle-aged divorced white folk out there who can relate to the situations if not the characters. Though people stop living under the same roof, they don't usually stop being part of each others lives when kids are involved.

Watch this movie with someone between the ages of 40 and 60.

Away We Go

What happened to the movie with characters who people in the audience could aspire to be like? This one has none. Instead, this story is full of people who you can hold up as an excellent example of people you don't want to be like. And you certainly would not want to invite most of these characters into your home. Needless to say, I found this movie uncomfortable and unpleasant to watch.

Some have compared this movie to the old slow romantic comedies of the 1960s and 70s. That is not too far off the mark. No doubt the makers of this movie were Woody Allen fans. His influences could be felt in many scenes.

John Krasinski of "Office" fame does a credible job here as the lovable doofus. Maya Rudolph of "SNL" fame is actually very good here and is perhaps the most enjoyable character.

If you must, watch this movie with low expectations and lots of patience.