"Hope Springs"

Rated R
1 hour 40 minutes

(WWLP) - The teaming of Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones is a match made in celluloid heaven.

Something's gone out of their 31 year marriage, and re-charging their emotional batteries makes "Hope Springs" the year's most marvelous baby boomer romantic drama. With Streep and Jones in Oscar winning form, you know their marital woes are in good hands.

Since it'll take more than a year's worth of Viagra to re-boot Tommy Lee's passion, she locates the Dr. Ruth of marriage therapy, Steve Carell. He plays it straight without so much as a rolling of the eyes. You can't call "Hope springs" romantic comedy. It's so filled with heartfelt emotional turbulence.

Sex so terrifies Tommy Lee, you wonder can this marriage be saved?

So what will it take for these aging lovers to re-capture their passion for each other? Nostalgia helps.

"Hope Springs" isn't just the middle aged movie of the year, but it's got to be considered a serious Oscar contender. It's one of the few films so far this year deserving of four stars. Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones just light up the screen.