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MOVIE REVIEW: 'Hope Springs,' an Adorable Movie About Restoring Love

Having trouble rekindling the sparks of your marriage? Come see 'Hope Springs' this weekend with your significant other and enjoy the laughs.

Marriage is the longest contract a man will have to sign in his entire life. And at times, he can mistake a happy married life for a long term commitment with no infractions. At least, that’s the problem Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) has in Hope Springs.

Arnold has been off the market for more than 30 years, living with Kay (Meryl Streep) in their average middle-class home in Omaha. He claims to have never cheated or be selfish about marital matters – as evidenced by his “mutually considerate” anniversary present to his wife: cable subscription. He feels that as long as the two are living together, the two are married together, and their fallout as of late is simply a decline of romance in old age.

What the audience actually sees is quite different. Kay and Arnold live in a routine rut. Everyday Kay will fix the same breakfast for Arnold (eggs and bacon), who will come downstairs, eat his breakfast with the daily newspapers handy, give Kay the same kiss on the cheek, and head off to work. The two rarely eat together, and their nights routinely end with Arnold falling asleep to the drone of golf tips in front of the TV. On top of that, the two don’t even share the same room – Arnold and Kay split off to their separate bedrooms every night. Kay, albeit meek and tentative, ultimately decides to tackle the problem of her unsatisfactory marriage and schedules an expensive week of intensive couples counseling in Maine.

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With a begrudging spouse in hand, Kay arrives at the office of Dr. Bernard Feld (Steve Carrel), a charming, considerate doctor who specializes in marriage counseling. In fact, he’s something of a celebrity in the town of Hope Springs, as waiters in local diners all know what to expect when seeing married couples drifting in. Over the course of their stay, Kay and Arnold work with Dr. Feld in a series of sit-down interviews and exercises - for the ideal culmination that the intimacy in their love life can be restored. Some of the interviews are very funny, while others are quite emotional – altogether forming an introspective look on true intimacy in marriage.

The movie is hilarious and adorable, filled with daring moments of embarrassing book purchases, experiments with phallic objects, “public displays of affection”, and more. Not to mention, there’s a lot of matter underneath the microscope as well. Over the course of the movie the audience is treated to a study of what it means to rekindle love, as well as restoring the balance and meeting the needs of one’s significant other.

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I watched the movie at the which meant in particular that a lot of senior citizens would also be in attendance. Throughout the duration of the movie they seemed to be enjoying themselves; they were rolling over with laughter as well as holding hands and sharing moments with their significant other. Thus, I highly recommend seeing this movie with your spouse, as doing so seemed to fulfill the components of a good time. Altogether, ‘Hope Springs’ is a great movie that addresses a problem most American may attest to. Marriage is quite an intricate entity, and sometimes a little nudge in the right direction is all it takes for the ball to get rolling.

Showtimes are 11:50 am, 12:50, 2:15, 3:15, 4:50, 5:45, 7:20, 8:15, 9:45 pm at the 

For more information, call (949) 831-0446 or visit regencymovies.com

I give it 5 Patches out of 5

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