By Jodie Shihadeh
In the true spirit of winter break, I’ve been catching up on seeing
all the quintessential “mom” movies — those movies you wouldn’t
“mind” seeing if you “had” to go with your mom or other similar
parental figure. What appears as an excuse to spend time together is
really a sneaky opportunity for you to see those movies you secretly
want to see but would never suggest to see with your friends. This is
how I recently came to watch the film, “It’s Complicated,” featuring
Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin.
The film’s plot fits the “mom-movie” profile perfectly. It depicts
Streep’s character finding personal revelation and emotional growth
through her clumsy yet entertaining dual love affairs — one with her
dashing ex-husband (Baldwin) and the other with shy, slightly nerdy,
new guy (Martin). Cute men, cute plot, cute houses and children. What
better way to recover from finals?
Ironically, the plot’s underlying theme also fits the Culture Forum
blog profile just as perfectly. At the risk of revealing some story
spoilers, Streep’s character gets the ultimate moral revenge. She has
a love affair with her ex-husband, who is currently married to the
woman he originally cheated on Streep’s character with 10 years prior.
The second wife got what she had coming, right? And who better to
deliver the message than the woman originally scorned. Talk about
karmic retribution!
According to the moral justice themes we discussed in class, what
could be sweeter for Streep? Beautiful house, beautiful ex-husband/new
lover, beautiful revenge. Streep’s character is completely confused
though. Her character fits within the perfect mold of Sigmund Freud’s
notion of civilization, also discussed in class. She is the model
citizen. She (presumably) always arrives to engagements on time, if
not early. She rarely has sex, at least until Alec Baldwin comes into
the picture. And she would never, ever, even think about having an
affair. Again, until Alec Baldwin comes into the picture.
The beginning of the film is all about Streep’s character’s struggle
with whether to exact the ultimate revenge on the woman who hammered
the final nail in the coffin of Streep’s marriage. Obviously whatever
legal resolution was achieved through the divorce proceedings didn’t
quash all of the emotions that surrounded the relationship. There was
a spiritual harm and craving that wasn’t rectified.
The interesting aspect of the film is that friends (and therapist!) of
Streep’s character all agree that she should have this affair with her
ex-husband. Very interesting community response to prospects of moral
revenge. Just like the news article we discussed in class about the
woman making her cheating husband stand on the street corner with a
sign proclaiming him to be a cheater, Streep’s character engaging in
adultery with her ex-husband might have been the only way she could
feel really whole after everything that had happened between them. Her
friends and therapist also seem to agree that a little ex-husband
adultery might be the perfect spiritual remedy for her ailing soul.
How funny that, had it been any other woman or any other man, the
friends and therapist would probably not hesitate to object to
Streep’s situation. But because of the spiritual harm these two people
had inflicted on Streep’s character, somehow that makes her adultery
permissible.
Cutting to the chase, at the end of the movie, when Streep’s character
ultimately resolves the unanswered question about whether Baldwin’s
character and she could mend their relationship, there is a sense of
peace between the two characters that hadn’t existed before. Streep’s
and Baldwin’s characters attain a sophistication and maturity after
their adulterous romp that the legal divorce sure couldn’t deliver.
Perhaps, and most likely, divorce proceedings in the legal system
never give people the spiritual closure they need. Maybe pure moral
revenge is the garnish to legal proceedings. I’m not sure what the
answer is. I just hope the opportunity for adultery doesn’t present
itself with Alec Baldwin. Otherwise things really could get
complicated.
