Review of Hope Springs (2012) by Joshua H — 14 Jan 2013

Movie Review: Hope Springs.

In a country where the divorce rate is higher than the amount of people that smoke marijuana, it's nice to enjoy a breath of fresh air at the movies - no pun intended.

Thankfully, Hope Springs is that movie. It's a romance film without the sappiness, an elderly movie with the dreariness of death, and a sex comedy without the raunchiness. It accomplishes all of these things, due to it's short list of great cast members - the film in it's entirety is basically Tommy Lee Jones, Meryl Streep, and Steve Carrel as the marriage counselor.

Now I'm not the first person you should ever talk to for sex advice (seeing how marriage isn't a part of my life yet), but I can say that this film challenges, in a good way, what makes the sensual side of marriage so special and enjoyable. It notes that modern society has lost it's sense of tradition, in favor of a constant barrage of questions - if our so called good causes only amount to parades and protesting, but nothing else, do they really even matter? A social movie that I'm sure for married couples enjoying this film will encourage them to ask one another about their secrets and desires.

What's holding this film back from a higher rating is that, while the acting is superb and the plot's conflicts do pose earnest sympathy from the audience, that really is all the movie has going for it. All the technical aspects of it, are, average, and for that I give it a 4/5.