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It's Complicated (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - United Kingdom - Universal Pictures Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (21st April 2013). |
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The Film
 When you think of romantic comedies, you generally think of younger to middle age actors or actresses. People like Katherine Heigl, Kate Hudson, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Jennifer Lopez. Generally, the genre is rather formulaic. Boy meets girl, they find something they hate about each other, they eventually realise how much they love each other and then they live happily ever after. It's a safe structure, one that Hollywood overuses knowing that women will happily flock to see these movies because of the cast members attached, and that men can't be bothered getting into an argument about what they are going to watch. Every now and again, you do get a romantic comedy that sits slightly differently, and Nancy Meyers' "It's Complicated" is one such movie, focusing on an older divorced couple and an architect. The synopsis from Universal reads: Romantic comedy starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. Jane (Streep) is the mother of three grown-up children, owns a thriving catering business and, after ten years of divorce, enjoys an easy relationship with her ex-husband, attorney Jake (Baldwin). But when Jane and Jake find themselves out of town for their son's college graduation, an innocent meal together takes a turn for the complicated. With Jake remarried to the much younger Agness (Lake Bell), Jane is now, of all things, the other woman. Drawn into this already-tangled web is Adam (Martin), the architect hired to redesign Jane's kitchen, who finds himself attracted to Jane despite the fact that he is still recovering from a recent divorce of his own. Just like the previous works of director Nancy Meyers, "It's Complicated" is cliched to the hilt and as formulaic as they come, but is almost saved by great casting. It was a good idea to have a romantic comedy aimed at an older generation, but it was an even better idea to cast the ever reliable Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin in the leads. Their professionalism and experience shines through, destroying the acting abilities of the usual rom-com candidates in the process. Supporting cast members Zoe Kazan, Lake Bell and John Krasinski (among others) are also better than should be expected in a movie of this ilk. The biggest problem for me was the pacing of the movie. It starts off rather slow and very dialogue heavy, but once we reach the graduation section it seems to pick up pace, bringing a few low level laughs to the proceedings. This well maintained pace in the mid-section becomes rather unstuck however, when it gets down to the exposure of everyones 'feelings'. Overall, the cast have good chemistry, but the writing is uninspired and predictable. "It's Complicated" is as average as you could possibly get.
Video
Universal present the movie in the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 using a VC-1 codec. As one would suspect for a recent Hollywood production, it's pretty good and features no real problems. Some of the darker colours don't quite have the clarity and sharpness expected in several scenes but otherwise the transfer is nothing to complain about.
Audio
There are a whole bunch of audio options available here: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 French DTS 5.1 German DTS 5.1 Italian DTS 5.1 Spanish DTS 5.1 English Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Obviously, I opted for the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which was quite front heavy but made good use of the surrounds when the suitability arrived. Some nice subtle effects and background noises, along with the soundtrack was more than suitable for the movie. The LFE usage was also subtle, but to good effect. Dialogue was clear throughout and there were no problems with the audio in regards to dropouts, scratches or pops. Subtitles are available in Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. A couple of quick looks at the English subtitles shows them to be clear and concise.
Extras
The first extra is an audio commentary with writer/director/producer Nancy Meyers, executive producer Suzanne Farwell, director of photography John Toll, and editor Joe Hutshing. Nancy Meyers dominates this yack track, focusing primarily on the plot on the story - but with some of the participants involved I would've hoped for something a little more technical orientated to compliment Meyers domination. It's an average track with little in the way of quiet moments, but I wouldn't go out of your way to listen to it. The second, and final extra, is a featurette; "The Making of It's Complicated" which runs 20:40 and is in high definition. This a typical fluff piece made up of interview snippets and movie footage.
Overall
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