“Prime” (Universal Pictures)
Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep head the cast of the new romantic comedy “Prime.” This is a story about a relationship between an older woman, a younger man, and her therapist. It is complex and convoluted but it all sorts out in a way that is believable. Uma is more beautiful than ever, and Streep is amazing, as always.
Rafi is a thirty-something woman who is coming off a bad divorce when she meets a young man named David (Bryan Greenberg). They immediately hit it off even though she learns he is only twenty-three. The age difference is disconcerting but Rafi’s therapist Lisa (Streep) tells her to go for it.
Lisa later regrets her advice, due to a plot twist I won’t reveal here. She becomes uncomfortable listening to Rafi divulge the intimate details of her relationship with David. Her reactions to these “confessions” make up some of the funniest scenes in the movie.
In this day of the Demi/Ashton marriage the relationship between an older woman and younger man is not as taboo as it once was. Still it is easy to accept there might be some problems in such a relationship and this film goes to great lengths to point them out.
Uma Thurman has never been one of my favorite actresses, but in this film she wins me over as Rafi. She is beautiful, vulnerable and emotional. She is searching for true love and thinks she has found it with a man fourteen years her junior. Then society says it shouldn’t be.
Streep plays a psychiatrist and a mother in the film and she is perfectly cast in both roles. Through subtle mannerisms and perfect costuming she lets the character consume her completely. It isn’t the best written role but Streep fleshes it out and makes it hers.
Greenberg is so at ease with himself in his part as David that you can understand why any woman – twenty, thirty or more in age – would fall for him. He acts his age without being totally immature and makes the romance believable.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and sexual situations.
“Prime” is a movie about two people in their sexual prime who are drawn to each other. It is a romantic film that doesn’t always take the easy out. Streep, Thurman and Greenberg play their roles for all they are worth and make this movie more than it should otherwise be.
I scored “Prime” a choice 7 out of 10.
