Hope Springs

The passive housewife, the miserable accountant... why is this sounding so familiar???

Hope Springs follows the lives of a typical married couple living through monotonous routine and daily chores that distract them from the elephant in the room - their dwindling marriage.  When the wife (played by Meryl Streep) has finally hit her limit, she forces her husband (played by Tommy Lee Jones) into couples therapy in Maine.  He reluctantly gives in to her demands and finds himself having to face the fact that their marriage is in desperate need of restoration.  This film also stars Steve Carrell as the marriage councilor.

It is absolutely delightful having to watch Tommy Lee Jones play the discomforted husband discussing his sex life with a marriage councilor.  Jones and Streep are excellent together.  Even though the situation is common in many marriages, the humor the story displays is necessary to counter-balance the anguish that the characters are feeling on the inside.  This film does an accurate job of reminding audiences of what happens after the children have moved out and the years of neglect and hurt are over.  What are we left with?  Shattered relationships that need to be put back together - picking up one piece at a time and putting it back into place.  The problem is, at that point, do you have the patience, the emotional stability, and the love to bother picking up the first broken piece?

I think this film does an excellent job at showing people the heartache that one has to go through to pick up the first piece, but that the pay off you get is worth it once the image is complete.  It has to slowly build back over time, but you have to be willing to rebuild it.  Marriage is a two person commitment, something the film is constantly trying to remind us of.  It's insightful and shines light on certain aspects people would rather ignore.

I give this film 7.8/10 for being relatable and unique in comparison to most romantic comedies.