( CNN ) -- During summer , Hollywood seems more fixated on the teen dollar than ever , but every once in a while , a movie comes along to prove that older audiences have n't been forgotten entirely . Often enough , that movie stars Meryl Streep , and here she is again with `` Hope Springs , '' a funny , outwardly modest comedy that manages to feel utterly novel by focusing on the sexual and emotional needs of an older woman . The promotional campaign pushes the raunch as if this were a Judd Apatow production . You can hardly blame the marketing guys for that ( even if the TV spots do give away the movie 's kicker ) , but it 's a gross misrepresentation of an expertly written , sensitively handled movie with two wonderful actors grabbing the chance to show something honest about a relationship gone stale . Tommy Lee Jones is Arnold , a crusty accountant who spends his evenings falling asleep in front of his golf shows but does n't see anything wrong with a marriage that has worked quite efficiently for 31 years . Streep 's Kay is no feminist , and you would n't call her liberated either , but she ca n't stand the loneliness any longer . Her husband has n't touched her in years , they sleep in separate rooms , and they do n't talk really , much less kiss . Summoning all the reserves she has left , she insists on intensive couple therapy , a week in Maine with Dr. Feld ( Steve Carell ) . Reluctantly but pragmatically , Arnold goes along , grouching and grizzling every step of the way . A good deal of the movie plays out on the couch , and Jones gets the lion 's share of the laughs just by virtue of his orneriness and evident discomfort sharing intimacies with a stranger . Two strangers , really , because his wife does n't have a clue about feelings he 's barely admitted to himself . Jones has played his crankiness for comic effect often enough over the years , but director David Frankel ( `` The Devil Wears Prada '' ) keeps the actors rooted in naturalism , not caricature , and it 's exciting to see Jones respond with a performance of discipline and subtlety . When he does turn that frown upside down , it 's pure joy , and we finally appreciate what Kay must have seen in this selfish bully . If we 're honest , Streep 's also been known to overplay comedy , and yes , she does have to nibble on a banana in one of the movie 's more predictable turns , but at heart this is a lovely portrait of repressed housewife and mother finding the courage to put everything on the line late in life . You find yourself gazing at her face for fleeting inflections of optimism , excitement and melancholy . Carell , you should know , plays his part absolutely straight ; it 's the definition of a supporting performance . The writing is sharp enough that the humor does n't need to be forced . Even in these sexually candid times , there 's still a residual squeamishness where sexagenarian sexuality is concerned . Screenwriter Vanessa Taylor is a producer on `` Game of Thrones . '' In her first produced film script , she strikes a fine balance between comedy and pathos and between the separate but related estrangements that have crept up on husband and wife over the years . Can such things be cured in a week of counseling and carefully choreographed `` sexercises ? '' The movie is romantic enough to have us believe it , in part by making it clear that love requires real effort -- and faith -- as well as wine and roses . Streep fans , I think you 're going to enjoy this one . I know I did .
`` Hope Springs '' is a rom-com featuring a mature couple , Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones . The movie was released in the US on July 1st of this year. Screenwriter Vanessa Taylor is a producer on `` Game of Thrones ''