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It's Complicated | 2009 | R | - 7.2.4

After being divorced for ten years, a woman (Meryl Streep) has an affair with her now married (Alec Baldwin) former husband. This has repercussions for the budding romance with her architect (Steve Martin), as well as for her three grown children, and she has to sort through confusing emotions. Also with John Krasinski, Lake Bell, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Hunter Parrish, Mary Kay Place, Rita Wilson and Zoe Kazan. Directed by Nancy Meyers. [1:58]

SEX/NUDITY 7 - A man takes off his clothes and lies on a bed waiting to surprise a woman as she enters the room: we see his bare chest and legs and his genitals are hidden behind a laptop computer, which is on the bed, but he unwittingly projects this image to another man's laptop, and when the woman enters she screams, "Why are you naked?!"; the nude man jumps up, turns around, bends over to pick up his clothes, and we see a close up of his bare buttocks.
 It is implied but not seen that a man and a woman have just had sex as they fall back onto pillows breathing heavily: they are covered by sheets up to their waist, the man is wearing a shirt buttoned down to reveal his chest, the woman is wearing a camisole which has one side pulled down revealing one bra-covered breast, and the man cups his hand over her crotch area and says, "Home sweet home."
 A man and a woman wake up in bed together, he kisses her, and it is implied but not seen that they have had sex and that he has spent the night (his bare chest is showing, and she is under the covers revealing only her shoulders).
 A woman in bed with a man wants to switch sides, and as they maneuver under the covers, he lies on top of her for a moment and kisses her shoulder.
 A woman who has just had sex, tells her partner to look the other way as she gets up, not wanting him to see her naked, and she covers her buttocks with a pillow as she runs to the bathroom. A woman asks a man to turn around as she gets up from bed, explaining that the last time he saw her standing up naked she was in her forties, and things look different lying down. In a hotel room, a woman stands before a man, and from behind we see her remove her robe; it is implied that she is nude, and we see her bare legs as the robe drops to the floor.
 A woman sitting on a bed, tells a man to hurry back because she's ovulating; as she pulls off her top we see she's wearing a cleavage revealing bra, panties and socks, and it is implied that he will have sex with her. A man, wearing boxer shorts, gets up from bed revealing his torso and legs.
 A man slips a woman's sleeve off her shoulder, kisses her shoulder and neck, and they then kiss passionately. A man and a woman enter an elevator and kiss passionately as the doors close.
 A woman wears a top that reveals her midriff and cleavage, and her breasts jiggle slightly as she walks. A woman's cleavage is seen as she wears a sport tank, a woman wears a tank top and boy-short underwear, and a woman sits in a bathroom wearing a robe, which reveals her legs up to the thigh.
 We see a sign and brochure that says "Fertility Center," couples sit in the waiting room and a man is called by a nurse who hands him a specimen cup, informing him that materials are in the drawer and tells him to have fun. We hear a conversation in which a man is asked how things are in the fertility world and we hear that he has "sperm issues." A man complains about being booked at a fertility center, and a woman tells him that when you marry a younger woman, a baby is part of the deal. A man at a fertility center is asked to deposit his specimen into a cup.
 An intoxicated couple dances at a bar, at one point rubbing back to back, she tells him he's married to someone else and he pulls her close. A man picks a woman up in his arms, presumably to carry her to the bedroom. A man surreptitiously plays footsie under the table with a woman, surprising her.
 A man attempts to kiss a woman goodbye, she turns her head and he kisses her on the cheek. A man holds a woman's hand, they kiss and he kisses her neck. A woman and a man's lips brush and they kiss accidentally, and a man and a woman kiss romantically on a date. In order to distract a woman from seeing something, a man quickly kisses her over their lunch table, choking on his food briefly. A woman agrees to let a man hug her, but when he goes in for a kiss, she pulls away. From behind, we see a man with his arm over a woman's shoulder as she rubs his back, and a man pats a woman's back.
 A woman tells her friend that it's not healthy to not have sex for however long it's been; a woman says she's not "not doing it" on purpose, and another woman says that if she wants her situation to change she has to date someone, anyone. In response to a comment about a woman's increase in energy, she says that it's probably due to all the sex she's been having; later a man notices that she has more "caliente." A woman tells her girlfriends that she's having an affair with a married man, and that they did it once there and once here and maybe more times, and admits she was drunk; after another comment is made about having drunken sex with a married man, she says, "I'm a bit of a slut." A story is told about a woman who hadn't "done it" in for so long that her vagina closed up; a woman asks if it was ever in one piece, and is told she had to have a vagina-plasty. A man, who has had sex with a woman, later tells her that he noticed she stopped getting a bikini wax, using the description "gone native," and that he was into it. After having sex with his ex-wife, a man excitedly says that it was one "crazy ride, smokin' hot," and that he thought they were going to break the bed; he remarks on how great she was and that he had forgotten how great she was, and also that her Pilates has paid off. After having sex with her ex-husband, a woman says she is having an out-of-body experience, and later comments that it was the dumbest thing two people can do, that he's an adulterer and she's an awful person, and she refers to their affair as being so wrong on so many levels to which the man retorts that it was "so right" and goes on to say he can't stop thinking about it, describing it as real and honest, great, loose and sexy and that he wants to hold her in the middle of the night. A woman asks a man if he had sex with her because he wanted to know what it would be like with a woman her age. A man tells a woman that sex is so much sexier with her now. A man points out that he remembers a woman never having time for sex when they were married, and now they've already done it two times in one week; he comments that other divorced people could solve their problems this way. A woman asks a man if he has sex with his wife, and he says only if she initiates it. A woman asks a man where his wife thinks he is, he replies yoga, and suggests that they do some "Downward Facing Dog." A man makes a sexual gesture with his hands. A comment is made about showing up nude on someone's bed. Referring to sex, a man asks a woman why she always says no before she says yes. A man says, "Why give it away when you…" (he doesn't finish).
 A man refers to a woman as a very big "ho." A woman laments, "It's official, we're having an affair." A man tells a woman that her architect likes her and that "his eyes were glued to your buttocks," using a crude term. We hear several conversations about divorce, cheating and a twenty-year marriage ending. A comment is made about a woman running off with a random guy and leaving him for another man. Several conversations throughout deal with whether it's morally right or wrong for a woman to have an affair with her ex-husband, including a scene in which a woman consults her psychologist to figure out whether having an affair is a good or a bad thing and tries to analyze why she's doing it; her psychologist ultimately tells her to let it go and that it can't hurt. A woman's girlfriends cheer when they hear that she is having an affair with the husband of the woman who originally stole her husband from her, they comment that he was hers first, and talk about the fact that it's a nice situation in that she doesn't have to cook, clean up after him, or sleep with him -- an ex with benefits. The terms lover, mistress and "the other woman" are used, and a comment is made about hating the other woman. A woman says that she knew at the time of her marriage breaking up that it wasn't all her ex-husband's fault, but didn't have to admit that because he cheated. A man refers to his affair with his ex-wife as very French -- "I have a young wife, but am having sex with my old wife." A man rhetorically asks a woman, "Is this a great affair?" and says they don't have to have sex. A woman calls a man and asks him to meet her at a hotel to order room service. A man wishes he could sleep over at a woman's house. A man mentions that he loved a woman. A man tells a woman that maybe they should grow old together. A man shares a story about his ex-wife and his best friend falling in love with each other. A man and a woman talk about dating and the fact that it can be stressful. A woman asks a man she is dating if she's too old for him, assuming all the women he's fixed up with are under thirty-five. A man tells a woman he doesn't want to fall for someone who's involved with someone else, and a man and a woman discuss if it's okay to become romantically involved since they work together. A woman is asked how long she's been seeing a man. A man tells his grown children he's fallen back in love with their mom, and when questioned by her grown children, a woman admits she's been seeing their dad. A woman says she doesn't regret having an affair. A man comments that the woman he is seeing wants to be courted. A man tells a doctor that he passed out earlier because he was admiring a woman, and he refers to her as his beautiful wife. A family watches the movie, "The Graduate" and we hear the line, "Are you here for an affair?"
 A man and a woman embrace, he sniffs her neck and says he loves the way she smells. A woman sits in a bathtub (her body is covered by water & bubbles) while she has a conversation with a man who sits on the bathroom floor, and when the man turns to look at her, she casually covers her collarbone area with a washcloth.
 A man leaves his wife.
 We see a man in girl-styled pajamas, which are too small for him; he explains that there was nothing else to sleep in.


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VIOLENCE/GORE 2 - A man passes out and falls to the floor, a doctor is summoned and later questions him about his meds (Lipitor, baby aspirin and Flomax); the man talks about having to take a certain drug or he'd "pee forty times a day" and the side effect of sperm reduction is discussed.
 A woman talks to a plastic surgeon about her "saggy eyelid" to which the doctor says to remove the excess skin she needs a brow lift and he describes the procedure, including details about cutting the hairline and pulling the skin back over the skull, and stapling it in place over the ears.
 A man peeks into a woman's kitchen window at night, watches her for a moment, then loses his footing and falls to the ground. A woman throws a jacket at a man's face.
 A vagina-plasty is mentioned, to which a woman says, "ouch." A boy is referred to as a lunatic child and a woman is referred to as a lunatic and nuts a few times; a man is described as having lost his mind. A woman tells another woman that she's lucky her husband is dead, because she doesn't have to run into him. Women talk about hating another woman. We hear a conversation about scars on a woman's hand and learn they were caused by cooking hot caramel (we don't see the scars).
 Adult children cry, say they are still getting over their parents' divorce, and mention feeling confused and betrayed. A woman, feeling humiliated, cries, and a man's grown children see him crying. A man jokes about crying for ten hours.
 A woman, hung-over, says she's dizzy, vomits into a nightstand drawer, and later into a toilet (we hear her crying and retching sounds, but don't see goo). A man who has choked on his food while kissing a woman, says he didn't mean to spit on her.
 A woman having a heated discussion with a man and preparing food, chops off a cooked chicken leg with a cleaver-like kitchen knife; another man cautiously takes the knife away from her.

LANGUAGE 4 - 4 scatological terms, 3 anatomical terms, 4 mild obscenities, name-calling (charming offspring, adulterer, awful person, punky, big guy, nerdy, nuts, lunatic, Bubbie and Boss are used endearingly), 21 religious exclamations.

SUBSTANCE USE - A man asks a woman, "Do you remember when we used to smoke pot?" and he pulls out a joint that he's brought and tells her to take a few hits (it is obvious later that she smoked it when she appears under the influence), a woman asks her date if he smokes pot and holds up a joint just as a police car is driving by, a woman shares a joint with her date who takes a big hit (partygoers nearby ask, "Who's got the reefer?") and a few scenes in the party feature the couple high and giggling, a woman tells a man, "I'm stoned," the expression "smoking weed" and "care for a toke" are used, three adults convene in a bathroom and share a joint (one man takes a hit off the joint while another man inhales his exhalation and a man tries to suppress a cough after smoking), and a man comments that he's not "stoned" anymore. A man and a woman order several drinks at a bar and become increasingly drunk, they laugh and dance and end up having sex with each other, a woman wakes up with a hangover and vomits, a woman slurs her words, a reference is made to "drunken sex," champagne is served and toasted with at a party and at a restaurant, a group of women drink wine at a dinner party, a woman orders a martini at a bar, wine is consumed with meals in several scenes, we hear, "Is no one drinking wine, but me?," a woman watches a couple dancing and comments that they must be "hammered," a young woman is surprised a man remembers something from the night before since he was so drunk, and a comment is made about people on the road drinking. A man passes out and falls to the floor, a doctor is summoned, and later questions him about his meds (Lipitor, baby aspirin and Flomax).

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Divorce, infidelity, marriage, second marriages, marijuana, consequences of getting drunk or high, effects of divorce on children and adult children, moral implications of extra-marital affairs, love, infertility, dating, step-parenting.

MESSAGE - The end of a marriage doesn't necessarily mean the end of a relationship, and although it may be complicated, it can be worth it.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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