Hope Springs (2012, U.S.)

This was a cute movie. It's nice to see the middle aged equivalent of romantic comedies popping up here and there. While this wasn't as funny as It's Complicated, it was much more thought-provoking. It was very simply plotted (a couple goes to out-of-town marriage counseling) but unflinchingly honest. The humor was the humor of reality, and at times it could even be called uncomfortable.

Meryl Streep is just lovely and brilliant, of course. Tommy Lee Jones was beyond perfect as the husband. I can't even put into words how he embodied the character of a set-in-his-ways, taking-his-wife-for-granted, slightly curmudgeonly man of a certain age. As a couple, they had the perfect chemistry, for lack of a better word. I could easily believe that they were a couple of more than 30 years, living in the same house in separate bedrooms and dealing with the issues they speak to their counselor about. Speaking of the counselor, Steve Carell didn't stand out here, but he was perfect as a therapist gently nudging his clients into discovering themselves and the issues in their partnership. Letting Streep and Jones shine with his understated performance was the best possible choice.

I would definitely recommend this to ladies (and gentlemen) of a certain age.

Rating: 3.5