[4] It stars Meryl Streep[4] as a bakery owner and single mother of three who starts a secret affair with her ex-husband, played by Alec Baldwin,[4] ten years after their divorce – only to find herself drawn to another man: her architect, Adam (portrayed by Steve Martin).

[4] The film also features supporting performances by Lake Bell, Hunter Parrish, Zoe Kazan, John Krasinski, Mary Kay Place, Robert Curtis Brown, and Rita Wilson, among others.

Jake and Jane's children know nothing of the affair, but Harley, who is engaged to their daughter Lauren, spots the pair and the doctor in the hotel and endures considerable stress while keeping their secret.

Adam unexpectedly appears, telling her that breaking ground in the rain is good luck, and the two share a laugh as he asks her if she would be willing to make chocolate croissants again.

Establishing commitments from the principals began in 2008, with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin entering discussions in August,[8][9] and Steve Martin joining the cast in October.

[10] Casting continued through 2009, with Zoe Kazan, Lake Bell, and Hunter Parrish joining in January,[11] John Krasinski in February,[12] Rita Wilson in March,[13] and Caitlin Fitzgerald in June.

[15] As Martin was soon to embark on a concert tour to promote The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo (2009), his schedule required the team to complete shooting his scenes during the first two months of filming.

[15] Afterwards, the team returned to Los Angeles for completion of the scenes at Jane's house and for the filming at the Bel-Air Bay Club in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.

Most scenes take place in the protagonist's home and interior courtyard, and as such the details had to be fastidiously worked out, but the rooms were kept bare to reflect the character's functional tastes and limited budget.

The website's critical consensus is: "Despite fine work by an appealing cast, It's Complicated is predictable romantic comedy fare, going for broad laughs instead of subtlety and nuance.

"[22] In his review for the Washington Post, Michael O'Sullivan called the film a "very grown-up – and very funny – love story [which] manages to be both light on its feet and heavy enough to deliver something of a message."

"[21] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called the film an "unapologetic chick flick" and wrote that "you don't have to feel guilty for lapping up this froth.

[23] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times also gave it two and a half stars and called the film a prime example of Meyers' established "cottage industry of movies about romantically-inclined middle-aged people."

"[24] Writing for Time magazine, Mary Pols complimented Streep's "radiant, funny and endearingly vulnerable" performance and Meyers' "clever and fresh [...] intent in showing the reality of the fantasy coming true."

"[26] Salon.com writer Stephanie Zacharek dismissed the film as "another missive from romantic-comedy hell," and felt that "Alec Baldwin -- in his undershorts, no less -- saves Nancy Meyers' latest midlife whingefest.