Most romantic comedies follow a basic plot of boy meets girl, but the title of Nancy Meyers’ latest film suggests there is much more to relationships than that.

It’s Complicated stars Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin as a middle-aged couple who start an affair ten years after they divorced.

Baldwin believes Meyers has created something more mature than the standard romcom. “To me, Nancy’s movies are adult romantic comedies,” he says. “They’re a little more honest than young people’s romantic comedies.

“Romantic comedies for young people seem to be a little crazy to me. Everybody is doing incredibly stupid things to try and get a laugh. And it is funny, but when you’re appealing to an older audience, you need to be a little more dramatic because the stakes are higher.

“But at the same time you have to keep it light; it’s a weird balance to strike and Nancy is so good at that kind of movie.”

Meyers’ past movies include Baby Boom, Father Of The Bride and What Women Want. This time she casts Streep as mother-of-three Jane, who owns a bakery and restaurant in Santa Barbara, California, and remains on good terms with her ex-husband Jake, Baldwin’s role.

The old flame begins to flicker again when they stay at the same hotel in New York for their son Luke’s graduation and end up reminiscing about their 19-year marriage over a drink or three.

Attorney Jake is now married to a younger woman, Agness (Lake Bell), and soon Jane becomes the “other woman”.

Matters become even more complicated when Adam (Steve Martin), a recently divorced architect helping to build Jane’s dream kitchen, reveals himself to be ever so slightly in love with her too.

The film has garnered a slew of Golden Globe nominations ahead of this year’s awards season, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Screenplay for writer/director Meyers and Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical for Streep.

Streep has been nominated in the same category for last summer’s role as a cookery-book writer in Julie And Julia, meaning she will be competing against herself. She was the first actress Meyers had in mind to play Jane in It’s Complicated and Streep instantly loved the script and the screenwriter’s sensitivity to such a universal subject.

“Nancy has tapped into something deep about families who’ve encountered divorce... or anybody who has been abandoned by someone they love,” says Streep.

The draw of her leading men proved irresistible, too. “They’re just so wildly and inventively funny, I love them both,” she says of Martin and Baldwin.

“They’re not just willing to be funny, they’re willing to reveal themselves, which is not always that easy. Steve has a very graceful presence and Alec embraces the process, embraces everybody he encounters. Everyone felt that on set, he’s like a big magnet and he pulls you into his magic sphere.”

Streep, who turned 60 last summer, has been married to her husband for more than 30 years, but she was still able to empathise with Jane and her unconventional love life.

“Starting a new relationship as an older person, I think you are probably just more aware of the red flags that are there, because you’ve been in trouble before,” she says. “You are a little bit more cautious and sensitive and you pick up signals more easily.”

Martin and Baldwin will team up in March to host the Oscars night, whereupon Baldwin will return to his television commitments in 30-Rock with ultimate plans to slow down.

“I have another year to do; we’re in syndication, so we’ll probably do a fifth season. Then after that is our sixth season, we all signed for six years. So by the time we finish that I’m 53 years old,” he says.

“It’s not that I don’t like what I’m doing, it’s just with whatever time I have left there are other things I want to do. Working in this business is very time-consuming and you have to want to do this at the exclusion of anything else you want to do and I’m not sure I feel that way any more.”

Streep, on the other hand, shows no signs of wanting to retire. The key to her longevity is not taking life too seriously, she says. “If you get to a certain age and you aren’t laughing at yourself, you haven’t recognised all the things that are funny.”

Did you know?

All of Steve Martin’s scenes for It’s Complicated had to be completed within the first two months of filming as he was due to go on tour to promote his CD of banjo tunes, The Crow: New Songs For The Five-String Banjo. His banjo became a staple form of on-set entertainment.