HOPE SPRINGS

Hope Springs (2012)
Grade: B
Starring: Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell
Premise: A bored housewife whose marriage has lost its luster enrolls herself and her husband in a week-long Intensive Couples Counseling.

Rated PG-13 for language, constant sexual references, some sensuality, and some intense emotional content

Not too long ago, I was speaking fondly to my mom of her parents--my grandma and grandpa, who’ve been married for 51 years and are parents of six, grandparents of 22 and great-grandparents of six. Since my grandfather got past his serious alcoholic stage nearly 30 years ago, their marriage has been steady and positive. It's darn near impossible to think of one without the other. Anyway, in the conversation, I mentioned to my mom how awesome it is that her parents are still married, that they've stayed together through thick and thin, and that they're past the stage where they have to worry about what they look like, and whether the other finds them physically attractive. At that point, my mom stopped me and went "whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm pretty sure they do still worry about being physically attractive." Well, I was surprised. Typical twenty-something, right? What? Old people don’t care about being physically attractive! Obviously! According to my mom, they do. And going along with such an idea, it’s clear that part-emotional, part-psychological and part-biological desire to be attractive to people—let alone the person you give yourself to, who you’re closest to—doesn't fade along with your hair color and your youthful "attractiveness".

Such is the idea behind Hope Springs--that a couple who has seen several decades together, still live together and have had children together, who aren't divorced, aren't separated, and aren't at each other's throats, might not necessarily be the perfect couple. There's no financial crisis and no question of adultery, but the relationship has lost its luster. The film opens with an agonizing scene in which meek housewife Kay (Oscar-winner Meryl Streep, very good in a subdued role that requires her to look all of her 63 years) enters the guest bedroom, in which her husband, Arnold (67-year-old Tommy Lee Jones, terrific), sleeps. She's wearing a slinky blue dress that shows plenty of cleavage, has put on makeup and primped herself. She even leans against the inside of the door just so after entering. His response: "What?" He thinks she must have a logical reason for coming inside. Is her room cold? Is something wrong? Realizing they're on totally separate wavelengths, Kay is mortified and can't even speak. She leaves the room and goes to bed alone.

A wife not being able to tell her husband she wants to have sex—let alone a wife of 31 years? Hope Springs is all the more effective because it ups the stakes, focusing on the sort of couple most outsiders would assume isn't having problems (they're still together, aren't they?), and then taking a peek, revealing troubles a couple of any age could have.

Plot: Kay cooks, cleans and works day hours in a clothing store. Arnold works a white-collar job in an office that undoubtedly pays well. However, despite a big house, healthy, happy grown children and all the physical comforts they could want, Kay is not happy. After Arnold threw out his back some time before, he found it was more comfortable to sleep alone in the guest room. He never came back. And they almost never talk. Every morning Kay makes Arnold a bacon-and-egg breakfast that is ready just as he sits down to read the paper (in silence). Once he's eaten, he gets up, tells Kay what time he'll be home, gives her a peck on the cheek, and leaves. They usually eat dinner in silence, celebrate holidays/anniversaries by buying "gifts for the house" (like new cable subscriptions or water heaters) and then Arnold falls asleep in an armchair watching instructional golf shows on ESPN. Kay feels lonely and disconnected, but she's too quiet/soft-spoken/intimidated to say anything outright. But, when she hears about an Intensive Couples Counseling offered by a Dr. Bernard Feld (Steve Carell) in Maine, she signs them up for it and even pays the entire cost. Arnold is appalled at her sudden hefty expenditure and reluctant to go, but he can see it means a lot to her and grudgingly takes a seat beside her on the plane.

The counseling sessions—with the couple and Dr. Feld—are exactly what Arnold feared they would be. Kay's not too fond, either. They're asked about how often they have sex (it's been almost five years), what they like about sex, why they don't touch each other anymore, whether they still find each other attractive, and challenged to try different touching exercises. They try to fumble through it—Kay shyly and Arnold grumpily (and because he doesn't want them to have wasted $4,000)—but, slowly, they start to open up. Secrets are revealed. Resentments are revealed. Pains and fears are voiced. They talk more than they have in years. However, in the midst of these sessions, Kay realizes the pain may have gone too deep. Even a nice date and a few honest storytelling sessions may not be enough.

What Works?
The actors do. This is a change of pace for both leads—Kay is very unlike the strong-willed, dynamic, resourceful women Streep usually plays, and Arnold is just a regular old man, a big change for Jones, who usually plays the coolest, smartest, wittiest character in his movies. Both are terrific. It's a bit of a shock seeing Jones nearly in tears contemplating a failed marriage and 31 years on the hook, while Streep embodies and acts out fears any woman of any age can relate to (when an embarrassed, agonized Kay cries out "I can’t do this; I'm not sexy!" late in the film, it truly hit me; how many people of any age have that exact fear?). The actors also bravely chart waters (like sexual references, admissions about sexual fantasies and even moments of physical intimacy together) that are usually reserved for actors at least a few years younger, and they do it memorably.

The film’s success rests with those two leads, which would be a great anchor for any film. The only other actor with significant screen time is Carell, who puts his typical understated everyman-ness to good use. But the depiction of Kay and Arnold’s relationship, and all the ins and outs, all the regrets and worries and resentments and mistakes, is what Hope Springs is all about. The movie also ends with a hell of a funny joke.

What Doesn’t Work?
Any movie about a rebuilt relationship is going to have a hard time not getting wishy-washy in its third act, and Hope Springs is no different—though I have a hard time remembering a movie where you wanted it to happen more. If anything, the movie feels a bit short. The structure of the movie also feels a little uneven; most of the sessions are depicted in three or four minute segments where more would have been nice (we only get a fraction of the typical “I first saw him/her when….” story). Some of those moments would have benefited from being fleshed out more. But the big thing Hope Springs does right is depict both people thoroughly—neither Kay nor Arnold is the bad guy or the perfect partner, and we are able to see in both what would attract and repel the other.

Content
I know what you’re thinking: a movie starring old people that’s all about sex!?! While no sex is depicted graphically, terms like “orgasm” and “climax” and “oral sex” are brought up repeatedly, and there are some heated make-out sessions and a lot of conversations about sexual fantasies and desires. Most kids would just be bored by a movie featuring three people sitting in an office and talking, but even those who stay might hear things a little beyond their sensitive ears.

Bottom Line (I Promise): Sure, it’s a little mushy and preachy, but Hope Springs is a moving, honest movie about what people desire and need in relationships, even relationship that have lasted decades. It’s a great chance to watch two experienced actors at the top of their game try something new.

Hope Springs (2012)
Directed by David Frankel
Written by Vanessa Taylor
Rated PG-13
Length: 100 minutes