"Nancy Meyers shows us what good writing and perfect timing can do"

It's Complicated couldn't have succeeded without veteran Nancy Meyers showing us what good writing and perfect timing can do.

Successful professionals Jane and Jake (Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin) never really got over their divorce. Public occasions with their adult kids draw them together despite Jane’s flirtation with an architect (Steve Martin) and Jake’s remarriage to a younger woman, (finally realising that he’s a walking cliché).

Baldwin must have had a blast as the paunchy, greying hound-dog and enthusiastically shares his good times with the audience. Streep, as always is professional to perfection. Streep and Baldwin get the thrill of it just right but her milquetoast relationship with Martin is less convincing, because what she gains in comfort, she loses in spark. I was highly impressed with John Krasinski, the husband of Jake and Jane’s oldest daughter, he gave the funniest performance in the bathroom scene! 

While It’s Complicated may not be as complicated as it wants to be, it has just the right amount of appeal to put a smile on your face. Two festive thumbs up - it's pure entertainment and a must-see of the family season.