Parents' Guide to

It's Complicated

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Parents will dig this over-50 romcom, but kids won't.

Movie R 2009 119 minutes
It's Complicated Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 16+

Based on 7 parent reviews

david.wallace
david.wallace Parent of 10 and 10-year-old
June 5, 2011
age 14+

Funny Middle Aged

Pretty wholesome rated R movie. For a comedy it doesn't have the happiest ending, but there are plenty of laughs along. I talked to some other parents who let their kids watch it and they loved it. I feel that my kids (10 and 10) are too young and would not enjoy it anyway.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
mikeisawesome123
mikeisawesome123 Parent of 11-year-old
February 2, 2011
age 14+

Not so funny

This was suppose to be a romantic comedy but it really wasn't as funny as I thought it would be. There was a lot of sexuality. Lots of sex scenes. They never really did show people actually having sex. Just before and after they did. One depict of a man's but. Now this why this movie is rated R. In one scene, a man is shown with marijuana and tries to get someone to smoke it. Next, the girl is shown with the pot before it is smoked, but says she smoked it, that she was high, and it was strong. Next, the two people are shown smoking pot. Then, they are again shown smoking pot. Then a man walks in and he smokes the pot.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
Great messages
Great role models
See all 7 parent reviews

What's the Story?

For a divorcee in her late 50s, Jane Adler (Meryl Streep) lives a rather enviable life -- she owns a gourmet bakery and lives in an amazing house in Santa Barbara. Meanwhile, her ex-husband, Jake (Alec Baldwin), is a rich lawyer married to a much younger wife (Lake Bell) who wants a baby. When Jane and Jake meet up for their son's college graduation in New York, they have an alcohol-fueled one-night-stand. Jake then decides he wants to continue his affair with Jane, who finds herself in the improbable position of being "the other woman" to the woman who was once her husband's mistress. As Jane and Jake's affair continues, Jane slowly becomes attracted to her attentive, earnest architect Adam (Steve Martin), who's overseeing her home's extensive renovations. What's an attractive 50-something woman to do -- give her ex a second shot at commitment, or plunge into a new relationship with a sweet new beau?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7):
Kids say (15):

It's Complicated is like the chocolate croissants that feature prominently in the movie -- warm and sweet, but ultimately not that filling. Director Nancy Meyers is a seasoned pro at depicting a luxurious, upper-class world in which everyone has a kitchen larger than most studio apartments and a home that looks straight out of a magazine. Who better to inhabit this world than the world's greatest living actress and two gifted comic actors? It seems like the formula for success, and, for the most part, it works. Streep is adorable (as are her best friends, played by Rita Wilson, Mary Kay Place, and Alexandra Wentworth) as a woman so sex deprived that she briefly considers whether her friend is right about a woman's "parts" closing up from disuse. Baldwin is almost too perfectly cast as the cocky ex who'd rather bury himself in the arms of his lovely former bride than go home to his shrewish-but-buxom younger wife. And Martin is much mellower than you'd expect, except in a hilarious scene in which Adam and Jane are high on marijuana.

Unfortunately, Meyers doesn't really have much to say in IT'S COMPLICATED. There's nothing all that memorable, despite the stellar cast. Some of the best parts of the movie, in fact, are the Adlers' three grown kids (played by Zoe Kazan, Hunter Parrish, and Caitlin Fitzgerald), all of whom are genuinely believable as siblings who would curl up in bed together after finding out that their parents had slept together but weren't yet back together. John Krasinski is also a scene-stealer as the soon-to-be son-in-law who first discovers Jake and Jane's dirty little secret.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the movie's message about how divorce affects children, even grown-up ones. What's the impact of Jane and Jake's affair?

  • The movie was rated R because of the pot-smoking scene. What conversation do you need to have with your teens about the effects of drinking and drugs on inhibitions?

  • This is one of the few movies that explores romance between adults in their 50s. How is Jane and Jake's "mature" romance different than romantic comedies starring younger actors?

Movie Details

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