Movies from the Heart—It’s Complicated

I began a discussion last week of romantic films made for older audiences. As you probably know, the demographics show us that people aged 50 and older comprise a huge demographic yet films just don’t get made for them to the extent films are made for teens and young adults.

Why? One of the reasons is repeat business. A teen will go see the same super hero movie 3-4 times just to see the cool special effects again. But an older audience member would probably never even think of seeing a film a second time. So, in the end, it’s all about getting people in the seats, so the younger viewers rule.

But some filmmakers are having success with making films for older adults—and last week I looked at a film written and directed by Nancy Myers, Something’s Gotta Give which, because of its great success at the box office, led to Myers doing other films in the genre. First The Holiday [2006] and second It’s Complicated [2009]. I talked about The Holiday earlier in this series, so let’s look at It’s Complicated today.

It's Complicated tells the story of a divorced woman, Jame, whose ex-husband, Jake, is now married to a much younger woman, so why, 10 years after the divorce, does he seem determined to come back into his ex-wife’s life? Especially when she’s just starting to date.

Take a look at a trailer for the film.

It’s—to use an old-fashioned expression—sexual hijinks. And it’s not just Jane and Jake, there’s the architect, Adam, to consider. Adam is recovering from a divorce and is a bit leery to put himself out there to get hurt again… and just when he does feel comfortable in his newfound romance with Jane, he discovers her ex is still in the picture. He can’t handle that and leaves.

Of course, as it’s a romantic comedy, so we can’t wait to see how they’ll come back together, can we?

But one of the nice things about this film is that it’s not super easy to resolve. After all, Jane does have feelings for Jake—she sees what his life is like and how he could yearn for the family he left. She’s not heartless, but she isn’t interested in him other than as the father to their three kids. But when the Adam sees them together, he drops her—it’s just too painful for him to think of getting attached again and being rejected.

The film did well at the box office—with profits that nearly tripled its budget. Interestingly enough, Myers’s next film—The Intern—was made for only $35 million and grossed over 7 times that!! A huge success. And yet, it’s difficult for Myers to get financing to direct… because she’s a woman? Because she does films for older filmgoers? One has to wonder!

Next week we’re going to look at another film for the older audience: Ticket to Paradise.

Copyright © Diane Lake

02Mar25

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