It's Complicated

As I re-watch Meryl Streep's new release It's Complicated, I can't help but apply the new concepts learned in class to this film. This film not only connotes excessive sex and adultery, but the "to-be-look-at-ness" factor is applied constantly. The romantic comedy is about a divorced couple (Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin) who while in New York at their son's graduation share an intimate night. Not to be forgotten, Alec Baldwin's character is married to a much younger women who also has a large "to-be-looked-at-ness" factor. She is young, and wears revealing clothing which connotes Alec Baldwins attraction to younger more fresh looking women. The film is about sex and how it can change a great relationship. Meryl in the film is demoralized which is interesting because the writer and director is none other than the female Nancy Meyers. You'd think she'd want to make a film empowering women, when this film for the majority of the time does the opposite. Meryl knows the affair is wrong and tries to break it off with Alec Baldwin's character multiple times but somehow gets roped in by his "manliness" and "propositions". On one hand we have this affair that Meryl gives into but know is wrong. Perhaps the director thought if she turned down Alec Baldwins character she would loose a lot of audience because of him feeling castrated. I'd like to also bring up the semiotics of the film. Although the two are having an affair, the word sex is rarely used. Instead, the director has use symbols to implicate flirting, sex, and togetherness. This film I think works better with the subtle hints and symbols. The characters have sarcastic and light personalities, so it works to imply their situations rather then explicitly talking about it. If we evaluate these choices, it is crucial to look at Nancy Meyers other films, The Holiday, What Women Want, and Somethings Gotta Give. These films also use heavy semiotics to imply sexual connotations. It works really well in light hearted rom-coms. In all these films, women, no matter their age, or background possess the "to-be-looked-at-ness" quality because eventually a love interest falls hard for the main female protagonist. Nancy Meyers is trying to show off how well women look, being a woman herself. The Complicated is a great film, especially when evaluating semiotics and how females are looked at.