American Divorce Not a youth comedy about sex, about sex and again about it. True, all this against the background of divorce, infidelity and various intrigues, and is dedicated to “all those over 50”. Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin fight for the right to own Meryl Streep, who in turn is completely confused, and the whole love triangle is desperately trying to build family happiness.
The narrow focus of the film beats from the first minute. The fact that humor never rises above the belt is actually half the trouble. Just how many would like to watch the debauchery of fifty-year-old adults, lost in their own feelings and propagandizing treason? The film is not suitable for a full-fledged family viewing, it is extremely not recommended for children, it will be boring for teenagers, it will not attract couples and young people, it will doubtfully affect the adult part of the audience and will really hit the target only in two cases: if the viewer also experienced a divorce (or was on the verge of this) or when the age category of the viewer corresponds to the age of the actors, and there will already be some search for common features in lifestyle and worldview. Otherwise, this is a very questionable attractive creation of art, which is struggling to pull the acting trio.
And, objectively reasoning, the actors cope with the task of laughing. As a comedy, this film is able to smile and laugh individual scenes, but it does not move on. He is not soulful, not easy and falls into nostalgic melancholy by the end, trying to evoke some pleasant memories in his audience and make him not regret the past. Subjectively, you notice Baldwin’s good performance, and his eyes burning with sincere passion, the gaiety of Meryl Streep and her behavior, and Steve Martin just unparalleled annealing in addition to the two above. Only here jokes are all forgotten immediately after viewing, and the plot component practically does not carry any value.
In the absence of a specific message to the hall and lies the main disadvantage. Such a movie does not bring people and families together, there is nothing so warm, tender and sincere as to give a positive and leave a sweet aftertaste. With funny situations and quite funny jokes, the melancholy mood somehow hurts and more and more abundantly reigns in the air, saturating the atmosphere as the action develops. And it would seem that the story of a happy marriage can be saved, even if it is a classic happy ending - but instead there is only a loaded list of reflections, some notes of nostalgia and lack of meaning in everything that has just happened. Even if some desire for realism justifies everything that is happening, they say, “it happens so in life,” but it happens and it happens in another way. This is a comedy, it is designed to be cheerful and positive, to dramatize at the end with such force is simply unacceptable, not leaving rainbow droplets of the sun, but only demonstrating a kind of American divorce.
And the topic of divorce, which is the main and most acutely raised, to which the plot, looping along the triangle of relations, in the center of which this problem lies, is regularly returned, is not presented in the most correct and detailed way. Here it would be appropriate to look flashbacks in the past, some additions to the storylines, or the presence of at least a larger “family” to rally the audience. Three children barely speak a couple of phrases on the main theme, but no visual presentation of the tragic divorce on this side and the infliction of child trauma – no more, children are present only screen furniture, not taking any part in the action, and the story of two hearts is not supported by rich content, but only monotonously throws characters from bed to bed. True, pronounced censorship does not allow the vulgar film to slide completely into the depraved world of passions.
But perhaps it is good that such a film for adults does not become in fact a “film for adults”, and as I have already said – even fewer people will want to look at the naked Meryl Streep, but for example, Baldwin’s young second / new wife could somehow be revealed in an erotic scene, add a visual component to the film, since it is not suitable for children and adolescents in any place, so it would reveal the adult rating to its fullest, but some bridles restrain the comedy so that it does not develop into “old porn”, and in some sense even gives a very dubious plus.
The divorce must be removed, of course. But shoot depending on the genre and with a specific focus on the age category of viewers. You can shoot a serious adult drama, you can make a cute family comedy with a happy ending, you can make a pleasant romcom about a repeated attempt to knit relationships, and in general the roads for a really strong, direct and bright presentation are open and this topic will always be relevant. But this film, despite such great stars in its cast, is an expressionless attempt to do something, and what exactly is not even the authors and creators themselves seem to know. And because they have the film is not glued the same as the relationship of the main characters: in some places successfully, in some places not bad, but in general ragged and not expressive.
4 out of 10
Original