Hope Springs review

Hey, are you over 32 years of age? Do you only go to the movies between the months of October and February because you’re tired of seeing the same movies about a superhero fighting an exploding robot? Do you like to read occasionally, and do you still have a hard time setting your Tivo?  If you answered yes to most of these questions, then chances are “Hope Springs”, a late summer romantic-dramedy starring Meryl Streep and Tommy-Lee Jones, might surprise you just as much as it did me.

“Hope Springs” details the lukewarm affections between Kay (Streep) and Arnold (Jones). After decades of a passive but somewhat comfortable marriage, the physical component of their union has seemed to run dry. Kay works at department store, where she can occasionally get away from the house and Arnold works as an accountant in an office, where he seems perfectly satisfied with being the breadwinner and nothing more. Not only are they no longer sharing a bed, they have been sleeping in separate rooms for a number of years. One night, after unsuccessfully trying to seduce her husband, Kay discovers an intensive weekend marriage-counseling retreat in Maine. Spending much of the film’s running time in couple’s therapy, Dr. Feld (Steve Carell) digs deep within their relationship and encourages them to reconnect, both emotionally and physically.

While the summer theaters are full of science fiction shoot-em-ups, there is a great chance that you had no interest in seeing this movie, for possibly three reasons; one, it’s about old people doing it, two, it’s directed by the guy who made “Marley and Me” and three, it could easily drift off into the same broad, sit-com waters that too many other romantic comedies fall prey to. I am here to tell you that while yes, it is a movie about old people doing it and it is directed by David Frankel—a director who has had a hot and cold record with his other comedies—that you should not be dismayed by the poor advertising. “Hope Springs” is a wise and tender movie about what it is to be complacent in a passionless marriage and how the road back to the bedroom can be a painful and awkward journey.

This is a wordy movie and if you don’t have the patience for dialogue driven drama, then this film may leave you cold. I myself found the long therapy scenes to be just as captivating as any of the action scenes I have seen all summer. This is because of the intensity of repressed emotion exposed by the two leads. Being character focused, the entire film lives and dies on its actors and luckily, with the trifecta of Jones, Streep and Carell, we are in very good hands. You may think that casting a comedian like Steve Carell would invite a distracting, comedic portrayal as a wacky and unorthodox counselor, but surprisingly Carell works only to support Streep and Jones and gives a completely straight-faced and understated performance, using his sharp comedic timing as a holstered pistol—only flashing it when he needs to.

While this PG-13 movie isn’t exactly “Fifty Shades of Grey Hair”, the content of “Hope Springs” is inherently adult-oriented and sexual. It should be noted that it may surprise some viewers by how unafraid and unapologetically it approaches the subject matter at hand. Though the movie unfortunately wimps out towards the end, when it has to conveniently resolve everything, it rarely goes for cheap laughs and the warmth and forgiveness it shows towards its characters is refreshing to see in such mainstream fare.  

Grade: B

Originally Published in the Idaho State Journal/Aug-2012