Nancy Meyers

Reese Witherspoon is so likeable that she can carry even the most hackneyed of romantic comedies. And indeed, that's what she's doing here. There's a nice sense of messiness in the plot of this rather silly film, but it's directed with so much sun-drenched perfection that everything feels fake. First world problems abound here: these people simply don't seem to realise how very privileged their lives are.

Of course it's set in Los Angeles, where Alice (Witherspoon) has returned after leaving her music producer husband Austen (Michael Sheen) in New York. She's now living in her late filmmaker father's spectacular house with her two bright daughters (Lola Flanery and Eden Grace Redfield), as all three of them try to start over with their lives and find a new sense of balance. Out celebrating her 40th birthday, Alice meets 27-year-old Harry (Pico Alexander), and she responds to his shameless flirtation. As he and his aspiring filmmaker friends George and Teddy (Jon Rudnitsky and Nat Wolff) move into Alice's guesthouse, Austen gets jealous and flies in from New York.

Nothing quite rings true about this entire set-up. And it doesn't help that Witherspoon basically looks younger than Alexander, even as the script centres obsessively on their 13-year age difference, as if anyone under 30 couldn't possibly be mature enough to relate to someone who's 40 (writer-director Hallie Meyers-Shyer is 30). This idiotic idea is relentlessly pushed at the audience all the way through the movie, and it undermines all of the film's goofy side-plots, which include more romantic confusion, the boys' ludicrously lucky attempts to break into filmmaking, and lingering feelings between Alice and Austen. Through all of this, Witherspoon still manages to make Alice a likeable, strong woman who is taking control of her life. But it's clear that everything about that life is utterly amazing, even in the middle of the film's contrived chaos.

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This is one of those warm, unchallenging comedies that's entertaining to watch even though something about it feels vaguely inane. Basically, nothing about it is even remotely realistic; people never actually do or say these kinds of things. But we kind of wish they did. And as writer-director Nancy Meyers makes a series of pointed observations about the value of age and experience, we can't help but wistfully smile and nod along.

It's set in a picturesque mix of old and new Brooklyn, where pensioner Ben (Robert De Niro) has run out of ways to make his life interesting after his wife of more than 40 years died. He's done the travelling, spent time with his grandson on the opposite side of the country, and now he's applying to be a senior intern at a wildly successful fashion website. He's assigned to work with founder and CEO Jules (Anne Hathaway), an overachiever who prefers to do everything herself while her equally astute husband (Anders Holm) stays home with their adorable daughter (JoJo Kushner). Jules is so busy that she barely notices that both her company and her marriage are slipping out of her grasp, but Ben is sharp as a tack, and gently helps her reset her priorities. Meanwhile, he also finds romance himself with the company's hot masseuse (Rene Russo).

Virtually everything in this movie feels comfortable and easy, with conflicts that aren't actually that difficult to manage and side characters who never steal the spotlight from the stars. The only dark shadow in the film appears when Ben discovers that Jules' husband is having an affair, and her reaction nicely sidesteps the usual way movies approach the issue. Otherwise, the film plays along nicely, never ruffling feathers while constantly pointing out how wise old people are, really. Thankfully, De Niro is so relaxed in the role that he avoids sentimentality, effortlessly mixing the comedy and drama. He sparks some engaging father-daughter-style chemistry with Hathaway, who nicely mixes Jules' tough drive with an underlying yearning to get her life back in balance.

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