Wonderful character development!

Fresh and Exciting

As Good As It Gets

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

After a decent start with Streep (the unsatisfied wife) and Jones (the disinterested husband) going to couples therapy, the movie became a series of uncomfortable sexual misses. They could have broken ground with a more raw, truthful November-November love story, but the writers shied away (Tommy Lee's sexual fantasy is a threesome? Wow! Stop the presses).Much of the movie's second half was shot in low light for the bedroom feel, so it was hard to discern what was even happening. Ultimately, I gave up caring anyway. Streep's pearl clutching and Jones' emotional retardation became too much. There was a good final zinger re the neighbor, but the spare moments of levity could not resurrect this sad story from the dumper.Not Recommended.

Hope Springs (2012): Dir: David Frankel / Cast: Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Steve Carell, Jean Smart, Elisabeth Shue: David Frankel scored big with the awesome The Devil Wears Prada, and while this film isn't as successful, it still addresses an issue regarding marriages that have grown stale and routine. It regards reclaiming that initial spark. The film stars Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones as that married couple of thirty-one years. She uses her savings to answer an ad regarding a marriage therapist in Main, and her husband reluctantly goes along. The film's biggest payoff is the casting of Streep and Jones who have great comic chemistry, especially when challenged to address intimacy. Streep yearns for the compassion while Jones would prefer not to address it, sidelining it with many of the film's best lines. This becomes somewhat repetitious as they leave each session with tasks that intrude their personal comfort zone. One of the funniest scenes regards an attempt at oral sex in a movie theatre. We know where it ends but older viewers will likely relate to its issues and its humour. Steve Carell holds his own as the counsellor providing another layer of humour without mugging from the central characters. We are told that he is married but little comes outside of the sessions. He does provide a decent comic counter to Streep and Jones. Other roles are also as flat as the initial marriage in question. The message is long lasting intimacy within marriage. In the end, the hope springs from brave performances from Streep and Jones that remind us that marriage can have value. Score: 7 ½ / 10

Hope Springs is a story of regret, patience, love, and acceptance—all in two short hours. I, who am twice divorced, have always been in awe of anyone who makes it past the five-year mark in a marriage. When I meet people who have been married for decades, I tell them it surely is their greatest accomplishment in life. Some look at me strangely, others nod in agreement, and still others make some comment or other about how it's not always easy. Whatever their response, I know there are secrets lying behind those knowing glances, pensive stares, or sarcastic comments. Hope Springs takes us inside those secrets, and I was grateful for the tour. It's a wonderful and uncomfortable movie.First, I have to talk about Meryl. I want to thank Margery Simpson, the casting director, for not casting Diane Keaton in the role of Kay. Kay is a bit of a stereotypical housewife from days of old who gets in the rut of service to husband and family. She feels uncomfortable about it, but she is unable to express herself. Imagine a less sophisticated version of the role Diane played in The First Wives Club. Diane plays these women from our past without a hint of the submerged intelligence – the choice to hold back rather than speak their minds, and the price they paid to hold it back. Meryl plays the role perfectly ("What else is new," I hear you ask). It's hard to express intelligence held back without words, but Meryl nails it. When she does speak, we strain to hear her. "I might be less lonely if I were alone," is delivered with such thought, such care, that you know she has been sorting it out in her mind for years. Thank you Meryl for bringing the Achilles heel of my mother's generation to the screen in such a dignified and kind way. But the true star is Tommy Lee Jones, who broke my heart a million times during the film. His performance is worthy of an Academy Award, although we all know these chick flicks rarely receive the golden statue. This one ought to be an exception to this rule. What a complex character! What a range of exploration he needs to do in the short time he has to get it right or call it quits. Whether he's expressing his confusion about what is happening ("I was good, I really was. I never fooled around.") or struggling to try again, to let his guard down one more time, he is just on the mark. And talk about expressing yourself with more than silly words; he owned the screen. Owned it, I tell you.Steve Carell has to get a mention here, especially because his character could easily have ruined the film by being ridiculous. His one-liners needed to be laid gently on the therapy bed, and he did it perfectly. Also, his coat and tie were perfect. He is cute, isn't he? Not a leading man? He was the lead in Dan In Real Life, and I liked him in that, but I didn't think of him as the lead in it. And, he is a secondary lead winner. Nicely done, Steve. I think you should stick to more roles with depth, and leave movies like The 40 Year Old Virgin to Ben Stiller, who irritates me no end.The therapy-session scenes are difficult to take. They made everyone in the theater uncomfortable. Long after another film-maker would have cut away to relieve the discomfort, we were still sitting there waiting for it to ease up. That was new to me. Rarely does anyone punish an audience for having spent money to be entertained, even if the punishment makes the point and tells the story. But I am glad David Frankel did. It wasn't just in the sessions either. Admit it, those of you who have seen the film, you were disappointed with the EcoHotel they stayed in and hated seeing them in there, didn't you? But it told the story as it needed to be told, so thanks for making me uncomfortable.At some point in the movie, someone says to someone else, "What are you going to do with your one and only life?" I can't even remember who said it to whom. But that kind of comment calls for a large answer, some amazing thing you must do to make your mark, to be remembered long after you have left for parts unknown. Watching this movie, I felt for the first time that is not what one needs to strive for. It is more important to get it right with another human being; to really go through ups and downs and years of interaction might be the best thing you can do with your one and only life.Go see it. If you are married, go with your spouse. But if you are divorced, be careful; you might find yourself wondering might have been if you had taken a larger-than-life step before it was over.

A masterful job by Tommy Lee Jones as Arnold; a stoic, staunch, impatient, rude, angry, obnoxious, tense, terse, distant, dysfunctional husband. Jones is so convincing and so engrossed in his character that it is easy to forget he is acting. He delivers his lines with spontaneity and from the heart, like he has lived Arnold's life, not like he is reading from a script. Excellent job as well by Meryl Streep as Kay, Arnold's charming, sensitive, frustrated, desperate, dutiful wife. Perhaps the best work of Steve Carell's career as Dr. Bernard Feld, the cool, calm, caring, sensitive, soft-spoken, compassionate, reassuring marriage therapist. Honorable mention goes out to Elisabeth Shue, as the charming, friendly local bartender.But Jones commands every scene and steals the show. His portrayal of Arnold, first as a disconnected spouse and later, in his awkwardness and discomfort in the situation he has reluctantly been cast, is acting perfection. "Hope Springs" is an average script, made exceptional by the extraordinary work of Steve Carell and Hollywood icons Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep. A very 'touching' movie.