Review: Streep Is The Reason To Go See 'Prime'

"Prime" (PG-13) (out of four)

If Meryl Streep weren't such a darn good actress, "Prime" would be just another pseudo-indie film a la Woody Allen, with great scenery of New York.

But because Streep owns the status of greatest living film actress -- the woman could emote about a watching paint dry and audiences would be mesmerized -- "Prime" is a movie worth seeing.

In "Prime," she plays Lisa Metzger, a Jewish therapist-mother, and Uma Thurman is her patient, a 37-year-old newly divorced Manhattanite, who ends up meeting a 23-year-old artist who lives with his grandparents. He happens to be Jewish, too.

I'm not going to reveal the "secret" of the movie, even though the film's promotion gives it away. I don't like spoilers.

So, Metzger and Rafi Gardet (Thurman) continue their sessions. The therapist listens to the beautiful blonde talk about sexual trysts with the young man, coaches her through the concerns she has about his Jewish family, and casts off Rafi's concerns about the age difference.

Thurman was born to play Rafi and ironically she stepped into the role just six weeks before it started shooting after Sandra Bullock reportedly had "problems" with the script.

The script does have its ups and downs. It's never really clear why Rafi and her new love, David (Bryan Greenberg) click so quickly after they bump into each other at a movie theater. It all seems like a script set-up too early on without really fleshing out why the sparks fly.

The sparks between Greenberg and Thurman never really ignite a flame anyway and it's mostly because of Greenberg. The actor, best know for television's "One Tree Hill," doesn't have the acting chops to stand up to Thurman or Streep, for that matter.

The script took writer-director Ben Younger eight years to write, but he probably should've written two movies. The problem with it is revealed in this quote from Younger.

" 'Prime' is about what happens when two people completely fall in love and then realize that being together is much harder than they thought. It's also a coming-of-age story for a 50-year-old woman who can't give her own son the professional advice she gives her patient."

Moviegoers will feel the tug of war. Is it about life, love and aging gracefully? Is it about one of these things? Is it about all three?

The reason to see this movie are Thurman and Streep's therapy sessions. If you've ever been in one, you'll identify with the patient-therapist relationship. When they are on screen together, Younger's script sings. One particular exchange shows the glimmer of what's great in this film:

"He's 10 years different. He could be my brother," Rafi tells her therapist of her younger beau.

"If he were one year younger, he could be your brother," Metzger fires back.

Streep said she had two roommates from college who are both therapists, while Thurman's mother never practiced psychotherapy, but trained as one.

The most jarring part of Streep's performance is that her makeup people have her looking like Sally Jessey Raphael on steroids, but Streep uses the odd puffiness and thick glasses to comedic effect. It's a role reminiscent of her portrayal in "Heartburn."

Streep probably won't win another Oscar for this one, but it's not a bad role for her to add to her resume. Plus, she has one one of the most memorable lines in a movie I've heard in a long time. She says: "Get messy. At least you know you're living."