Hope Springs
(2012)Sometimes to keep the magic, you need to learn a few tricks.
Comedy-drama starring Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones as a couple trying to reignite their 30 year marriage with an intense weekend of marriage and sex therapy, courtesy of a relationship guru (Steve Carell). From the director of The Devil Wears Prada.... More
Kay (Streep) wants to reconnect with her cantankerous husband (Jones) and persuades him to meet with Dr Bernie Feld (Carell). Attending his sessions in the seaside town of Great Hope Springs, the couple have to endure the intrusive counselling, drop their bedroom hang ups, learn some new manoeuvres and rediscover their joie de vivre.Hide
-
Directed by David Frankel
Starring Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Steve Carell, Jean Smart, Marin Ireland, Susan Misner, Ben Rappaport, Daniel Flaherty
Written by Vanessa Taylor
On Demand, DVD & Blu-Ray
Available from 2 providers
Flicks Review
The Peoples' Reviews
Reviewed & Rated by
Your rating & review
Rate / Review this movieRate and/or review
Hope Springs
BY Brian1 superstar
Yes, I suspect many will recognise aspects of life as portrayed in this movie.
Worth seeing, reasonably funny and a little thought provoking.
BY BrionyJae superstar
BY Weds_Loafers superstar
Despite usually reacting badly to movies that are just vehicles for big names, we all had the same reaction this... More time. This is a very enjoyable movie and all 3 stars are well cast. Tommy Lee Jones, in particular, plays his part to perfection. Worth seeing for his performance alone.
We all gave it 4 stars with 1 score of 4.5. Overall then, a solid 4 stars. Enjoy!Hide
BY Chonny nobody
Actors were great but the story was a bit slow, it did have its funny moments though and kept me entertained. The was a bit much sitting around doing nothing to keep this movie really entertaining.
BY GrahamP superstar
I am having trouble writing this review.
It will appeal to some with laugh out loud moments which I enjoyed.The adult comedy was very good.The success of the film depended on the casting of the charactors.Both Streep and Jones do a very good job and carried the story well.
On the other side it was dull at times with many visits to the therapist.Steve Carell was playing a serious and intelligent counselor.
Some will enjoy it a lot while it may not appeal to others.Go and make up your own mind.
Showing 5 of 8 reviews. See all reviews
The Press Reviews
74%
of critics recommend.
Rotten Tomatoes Score. More reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
The reason to see it is for Jones. This man who can stride fearlessly through roles requiring strong, determined men, this actor who can seem in complete control, finds a character here who seems unlike any other he has played and plays it bravely. Full Review
Hope Springs dares viewers to look closely at the remarkable sight of naked adult intimacy and its discontents. Full Review
More comedic drama than midlife romantic comedy, rather literally titled Hope Springs holds few surprises but delivers plenty of warmth. Full Review
If you're not in that demographic, don't dismiss it. You'll miss out on a genuinely sweet, perfectly acted, remarkably brave little movie that should make audiences swoon for something they thought was gone - a smart dramedy for grown-ups. Full Review
The movie is an awkward cross between a domestic comedy and a marital tragedy that's laced with laughs, soggy with tears and burdened by a booming, blunt soundtrack that amplifies every narrative beat. Full Review
When the sing-song Jones and beatifically smiling Streep are allowed to carry the dramatic weight, you can see the raw, tough-love film that Hope Springs wants to be - until Frankel starts trying to be lighthearted and cute, at which point you see the movie's real troubled marriage in full bloom. Full Review
Hope Springs is an altogether pleasant surprise: a mainstream dramedy that frankly and intelligently addresses the challenges facing a couple after 31 years of marriage. Full Review
BY Frances Morton Flicks Writer
No doubt any marriage that has lasted 31 years is a deep vein of emotional drama, but Hope Springs fails to mine that rich source with either sensitivity or humour. It attempts to be a relatable chick flick for the gold card crowd, but the characters are so one-dimensional and cliché that most baby boomers will find this portrayal of their generation insulting.... More
Doting wife Kay is the character equivalent of a potato sack. If anyone can make that look good, it’s Meryl Streep but even the grand dame of cinema barely manages to render insipid in an interesting way. Kay is a boring housewife from boring middle America. Every morning she makes boring bacon and eggs for her boring husband who doesn’t appreciate them, when what she really wants is some spice in the sack. Tommy Lee Jones in gruff hubby mode is slightly more watchable, slouching through his daily routine like a gorilla with a sore head.
When the film finally relocates from suburban monotony to a picturesque seaside village (with the horribly on-the-nose name Great Hope Springs) it slides into another rut. In a series of couch sessions, Kay and Arnold gradually divulge their marriage problems to Steve Carrell, whose comedic ability is utterly wasted as the couple’s benign and sympathetic therapist. Further aggravation arrives when emotional scenes are supposed to take hold, director David Frankel giving us a shove by hammering the moment with an overbearing, easy listening soundtrack.
Kay suffers from menopausal angst. As the years advance she’s realising that, despite her expectations, things may never get any better. I had the same sensation watching this film.Hide
Care to comment?