Prime (2005)

Going through the DVD archives, this week I screened the film Prime. It stars Meryl Streep and Uma Thurman. It is a romantic comedy that takes an inside look at love overcoming barriers.

The key to any romantic comedy is that there needs to be something that keeps the would be lovers apart. In the case of Prime it is a double whammy as both a significant age difference (she’s 37, he’s 23), and different religions are keeping them apart. Ok, so far, this is really nothing special thus far.

SPOILER ALERT!

The twist that makes this film is that Meryl Streep plays a therapist, and is trying to help Uma Thurman, a late 30-something who is recently out of a long term relationship that didn’t work out, and wondering if she is past her prime to start again. Enter Streep’s son who almost has a maturity beyond his years, and starts to date Thurman. What makes this intriguing is that for the majority of the movie the therapist gives disparate advice to both her son and her patient, and she doesn’t know the two of them are dating. On the one hand she advises her patient with liberal Manhattan values, while she preaches to her son traditional Jewish values. This dichotomy is what makes Prime worth watching in this reviewer’s opinion.

Prime is well acted, and plays out well. It’s a little more serious than some other romantic comedies, but that gives it some depth, and a sense of reality, while still not taking itself overly seriously. It’s difficult to straddle this line successfully, but Prime does just that.

Overall Grade: B+

Digg This
Del.icio.us