The latest offering from romcom writer and director Nancy Meyers can be summed up in Jake’s (Alec Baldwin) proud declaration: "I have a young wife but I am having sex with my old wife." The film explores the complicated mix of emotions that exist between those who were formerly in a relationship together, especially if that relationship lasted 20 years and produced three children.

Jake and ex-wife Jane (Meryl Streep) divorced ten years ago when he left her for a much younger woman. Both in New York for their son’s graduation, and after a few too many glasses of wine, a mature civility turns into a steamy affair which they continue when back at home in Santa Barbara, California. Here Jane also meets architect Adam (Steve Martin) serving to further complicate her suddenly blossoming love life.

Streep, who seems to be enjoying a welcome renaissance at the moment, looks magnificent, as does all the food she is constantly whipping up (Jane runs a highly successful bakery) chocolate fudge cake, croissants, and a myriad of other culinary delights. The chemistry between Streep and her two love interests is palpable and she and Baldwin (who is nominated for a BAFTA) are highly believable as the once-married couple. And Baldwin’s charm makes him likeable despite his iffy fidelity record and allows him to pull off such ridiculous lines as:

"Where does your wife think you are?"

"Yoga. Shall we do some downward facing dog?"

However, the film’s not without fault. The offspring of this lively couple are annoyingly banal and look like identikit Ralph Lauren models, whilst Jane’s galpals are irritatingly stereotyped divorcées. In fact it is really the three leads and up-and-coming actor John Krasinski, their wonderfully goofy prospective son-in-law, who make this film come alive. Meyers’s script, though funny in parts, is far from flawless and relies too heavily on clichés, going so far as to resurrect the heart-attack-during-sex-incident from her own film Something’s Gotta Give, and the perfect lifestyles of the couples (fancy cars and private pools) do little to ground what could been a very silly film, even for a romcom.

However, there is much to be said for any film which celebrates the not-so-young. Streep has wrinkles, Baldwin has a definite paunch and Martin has a full head of grey hair and yet they are able to be charming, attractive and sexy. For this, if nothing else, Meyers should be praised. The film also boasts some touching moments of honesty, such as when Jane admits that their marriage’s breakdown wasn’t mono-causal, and Jake’s adultery gave her an excuse not to have to confront the other reasons behind it.

And yet, how satisfying is a scenario where, when the philandering husband’s younger woman becomes too complicated (Jake’s wife forces him to attend a fertility clinic and calls him to bed with a seductive "I’m ovulating") he then runs back to the original wife who, having got shot of the kids, now seems the more attractive option? Plus, while Jane is caught in the dilemma of enjoying herself with her ex-husband which makes her the ‘other woman’ she once hated, Jake seems to be blissfully oblivious to any potential moral quandary. In fact, after deciding he’s in love with Jane, (did he ever stop loving her? he ponders) he ups sticks from his new wife just like that.

The refreshing thing about this comedy is that the ending (i.e. which of the two men Jane should choose, if either) was not clear from the start. It was just a shame Meyers didn’t leave us guessing, but instead tacked on a completely unnecessary final scene. And that for me was the extra slice of chocolate cake that made me it a little too sickly for my taste.