Review of Hope Springs (2012) by Jonathan B — 18 Dec 2012

It's refreshing to see a romantic comedy/drama take itself and its premise seriously, unafraid to deal with real world problems in an adult manner, even if it is aimed at an older audience. For someone such as myself, who can't relate to being married for 31 years, it's nice to see marriage and sex treated in a frank and serious way instead of being stereotyped, cast aside as a punch line or dumb downed to the lowest common denominator as is usually the case in "younger" films. It gives me hope Hollywood can still get this genre right from time to time.

It certainly was smart casting by getting some of the best actors around to do the heavy lifting. Tommy Lee Jones, in particular, turns in a noteworthy performance by being as cantankerous as ever but showing a vulnerability his characters have always been hesitant to explore. Meryl Streep is Meryl Street, likely to go down as the best actress of all time, and it's welcome to see her a little bit more subdued and playing underneath the surface than she's been in her last couple of films. Steve Carrell also does a fine job in a rather difficult role, if you think about it, as he's nothing more than a talking head but has to become the caring catalyst for the crux of the movie. Hope Springs isn't perfect, I thought the ending was a bit hu hum for one, but it's a lot more thoughtful and moving than expected and one of the year's most pleasant surprises.