Heartburn

Directed by Mike Nichols, Heartburn follows Meryl Streep’s Rachel Samstat as she meets and falls in love with Jack Nicholson’s Mark Forman – with the movie detailing the ups and downs of their tumultuous relationship. Filmmaker Nichols, armed with Nora Ephron’s screenplay, delivers an erratically-paced yet predominantly rewarding comedy that benefits from the rock-solid efforts of Streep and Nicholson, as the actors elevate the proceedings on an impressively ongoing basis and, thanks to their palpable chemistry together, ensure that the movie remains compulsively watchable throughout – with the stars’ first-class work matched by a remarkably talented supporting cast that includes, among others, Jeff Daniels, Catherine O’Hara, Richard Masur, and Miloš Forman. And although the episodic narrative admittedly paves the way for a less-than-streamlined midsection, Heartburn‘s emphasis on Streep’s character’s continuing exploits, including Rachel’s encounter with Kevin Spacey’s burglar and her discovery of Mark’s infidelity, results in an easygoing, thoroughly entertaining atmosphere that proves fairly difficult to resist – which, when coupled with Carly Simon’s earworm score and a satisfying final few minutes, cements the picture’s place as a mostly stirring endeavor that fares better than one might’ve anticipated.

*** out of ****

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