by Alex Bentley

The pleasure of watching top actors elevate standard material into something more is a gift for all movie lovers.

Writer/director Nancy Meyers has long been making movies that center around the fairer sex. That may not sound like such a big deal, but in the male-dominated world of Hollywood, getting anybody to greenlight a film that doesn't put men to the forefront is like pulling teeth. As a writer, Meyers did it by working with some of the better-known comedic actresses of their day, including Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin, Whoopi Goldberg in Jumpin' Jack Flash, and Diane Keaton in Baby Boom. Since she turned to directing, she's featured such actresses as Keaton again in Something's Gotta Give, Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz in The Holiday, and now Meryl Streep in It's Complicated.

Streep plays Jane, who still hasn't fully moved on with her life despite having been divorced from Jake (Alec Baldwin) for 10 years. Sure, she's got a great house, a successful business as a bakery owner, and three kids who adore her, but every time she sees Jake with Agness (Lake Bell), the much-younger woman with whom he had an affair (and subsequently married), she can't quite hold back her contempt.

But all is not completely well in Jake and Agness' marriage, and when the whole family travels to New York to attend their son Luke's college graduation, an impromptu dinner between just Jane and Jake turns into an unintended rekindling of their romance. Jane spends the rest of the film wrestling with her conflicting emotions about now being "the other woman," all the while trying to force herself to pursue a relationship with Adam (Steve Martin), an architect who's helping to remodel her home.

With a long history that includes three children, there's tons of meaning in those looks.

Given the (relative) advanced ages of the three main leads, it's no surprise that some of the humor in the film focuses on age-related issues. For instance, the way that Baldwin's Jake's body has, um, filled out over the years is played for comic effect in not one but two scenes. There's also an extended sequence in which Jane and Adam share a joint, and the "old people getting high" joke is at once familiar and hilarious thanks to the efforts of Streep and Martin.

But Meyers is to be commended for not allowing the movie to be all about how old its stars are. In fact, Streep, Baldwin, and Martin are such pros that all you really have to do is given them a basic concept and let them run free. What makes It's Complicated such fun to watch is the ease with which all the actors interact with each other. As a viewer, you rarely feel as if you're watching actors, which is what any good movie should strive to achieve.

Who couldn't relate to this kind of joy, no matter what age the actors are?

Streep is one of the preeminent actors in Hollywood, and it seems like she could give an awards-worthy performance in her sleep (she's already garnered a Golden Globe nomination for this one). Baldwin has made a whole second career appearing in comedic roles, and playing Jake is right up his alley. Martin has been hit-and-miss in recent years, but he plays Adam mostly straight, and it's a demeanor that fits him well. Also of note is John Krasinski as Jane and Jake's soon-to-be son-in-law Harley. He's cornered the market on charming awkwardness, and he gets to show off all his skills here.

It's Complicated may seem like just a romantic comedy for the menopausal set on the surface, but the pleasure of watching top actors elevate standard material into something more is a gift for all movie lovers.