It's Complicated (film)

''It's Complicated'' is a 2009 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Nancy Meyers. It stars Meryl Streep as a bakery owner and single mother of three who starts a secret affair with her ex-husband, played by Alec Baldwin, ten years after their divorce – only to find herself drawn to another man: her architect, Adam (portrayed by Steve Martin). The film also features supporting performances by Lake Bell, Hunter Parrish, Zoe Kazan, John Krasinski, Mary Kay Place, Robert Curtis Brown, and Rita Wilson, among others.

The film was met with average reviews from critics, who praised the acting of its ensemble cast but declared its story rather predictable. It became another commercial hit for Meyers, however, upon its Christmas Day 2009 opening release in the United States and Canada. It played well through the holidays and into January 2010, ultimately closing on April 1 with $112.7 million. Worldwide, ''It's Complicated'' eventually grossed $219.1 million, and surpassed ''The Holiday'' (2006) to become Meyer's third-highest-grossing project to date.

For their performances, the cast was awarded a National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Award for Best Ensemble Cast the same year. In addition, the film was nominated at both the Critics' Choice Awards and the Satellite Awards and garnered Meyers two Golden Globe nominations, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Screenplay. Streep and Baldwin each were individually recognized with Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor nominations at the Golden Globe and BAFTA award ceremonies, respectively.

Plot

Jane, who owns a successful bakery in Santa Barbara, California, and Jake Adler, a successful attorney, divorced ten years earlier. They had three children together, two daughters and a son, who are grown. Jake has married the much younger Agness, the woman he cheated on Jane with.

Jane and Jake attend their son Luke's graduation from college in New York City. After a dinner together, the two begin an affair, which continues in Santa Barbara. Jane is torn about the affair; Jake is not. While Agness has Jake scheduled for regular sessions at a fertility clinic, Jake is secretly taking medication to decrease his frequent urination, the side effects of which are decreased sperm count and dizziness. After one of his sessions, he has a lunchtime rendezvous with Jane at a hotel. Jake collapses in the hotel room and a doctor is called. The doctor speculates that the reason for Jake's distress may be the medication and says he should stop taking it. Jake and Jane's children know nothing of the affair, but Harley, who is engaged to their daughter Lauren, spots the pair and the doctor in the hotel but keeps silent.

Adam is an architect hired to remodel Jane's home. Still healing from a divorce of his own, he begins to fall in love with Jane. On the night of Luke's graduation party in Santa Barbara, Jane invites Adam to the party. She is stoned when he picks her up because she has taken a hit from a marijuana joint that Jake had given her earlier. Before going into the party, Adam smokes some of the joint with Jane. Once inside, they are laughing and happily high, Jake becomes jealous observing them, and after pressing Jane, smokes some with her also.

Agness then observes Jake and Jane dancing together and senses they are having an affair. When they leave the party, Adam asks Jane if they could have something to eat. Jane takes him to her bakery and they make chocolate croissants together, ending the evening with a romantic kiss. Jake and Agness separate, although it is not clear who leaves whom. Eventually, by a webcam in Jane's bedroom, Adam sees Jake naked and realizes that the two have been having an affair. Adam tells Jane he cannot continue seeing her because it will only lead to heartbreak. Jane's kids also find out, and they are not happy about their parents getting back together because they are still recovering from the divorce. Jane tells them she is not getting back with Jake. Jane and Jake talk and end their affair on amicable terms.

The film ends with Adam at Jane's house ready to commence the remodeling. Before the credits roll, Jane and Adam are seen laughing about the chocolate croissants while walking into her house.

Cast

* Meryl Streep as Jane Adler, a successful bakery owner.
* Steve Martin as Adam Schaffer, Jane's architect.
* Alec Baldwin as Jacob "Jake" Adler, Jane's ex-husband.
* Lake Bell as Agness Adler, Jake's wife.
* Hunter Parrish as Luke David Adler, Jane and Jake's son.
* Zoe Kazan as Gabby Adler, Jane and Jake's younger daughter.
* Caitlin FitzGerald as Lauren Adler, Jane and Jake's older daughter.
* John Krasinski as Harley, Lauren's fiancé.
* Mary Kay Place as Joanne
* Rita Wilson as Trisha
* Alexandra Wentworth as Diane
* James Patrick Stuart as Dr. Moss, the plastic surgeon
* Blanchard Ryan as Annalise
* Michael Rivera as Eddie
* Robert Curtis Brown as Peter
* Peter Mackenzie as Dr. Alan, Jane's therapist.
* Rosalie Ward as Alex
* Jimmy Clabots as Chase
* Emjay Anthony as Pedro Adler
* Emily Kinney as Waitress.
* Nora Dunn as Sally
* Bruce Altman as Ted
* Lisa Lynn Masters as the beautiful woman in elevator.
* Pat Finn as Hotel Doctor
* Valente Rodriguez as Reynaldo
* Andrew Stewart-Jones as Restaurant Host
* Geneva Carr as Woman at Fertility Clinic
* Deidre Goodwin as Fertility Nurse
* Jessica St. Clair as Wedding Specialist
* Marina Squerciati as Melanie
* Robert Adamson as College Kid at Party
* Heitor Pereira as Party Musician
* Ramin Djawadi as Party Musician
* Alan Cumming as TV Actor (uncredited)
* Anne Lockhart as Party Guest (uncredited)
* Oprah Winfrey as Herself (uncredited)

Production

Casting

In May 2008, Nancy Meyers agreed to a project for Universal Studios that she would write and direct, to be co-produced with Scott Rudin. The project was referred to as ''The Untitled Nancy Meyers Project'' during its inception and early production. Establishing commitments from the principals began in 2008, with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin entering discussions in August, and Steve Martin joining the cast in October. Casting continued through 2009, with Zoe Kazan, Lake Bell, and Hunter Parrish joining in January, John Krasinski in February, Rita Wilson in March, and Caitlin Fitzgerald in June.

Filming

While the majority of the film is set in Santa Barbara, California, most of the filming – including nearly all of the interiors – took place in New York City. Principal photography began on February 18, 2009 at the Broadway Stages in the Brooklyn borough, where the interior scenes of Jane's house were shot. Several other key locations were used during the first portion of filming in New York, including Picnic House, a large, studio-sized structure in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, where Jane's bakery was built inside; the facilities at Sarabeth's Bakery in the Chelsea Market; and a commercial loft building in New York's Chelsea district, where scenes at Adam's office were filmed in. As Martin was soon to embark on a concert tour to promote '' The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo'' (2009), his schedule required the team to complete shooting his scenes during the first two months of filming.

In April 2009, the company relocated to Los Angeles, where cast and crew started filming scenes taking place outside Jane's house, for which a ranch house located in Thousand Oaks in the north of Los Angeles was used. In mid-April, the crew spent a few days filming exteriors in Montecito and Santa Barbara – just days before wildfires took a heavy toll on the area. Additional scenes were taken in front of numerous downtown landmarks, including the Santa Barbara County Courthouse

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