Heartburn (1986)

Based on Nora Ephron’s semi-autobiographical novel about her marriage to Carl Bernstein, this film has Meryl Streep as a writer who despite her reservations marries Jack Nicholson. While pregnant with their second child, she discovers he’s been having an affair with a New York socialite. Directed by Mike Nichols, it seems like it’d be a recipe for a solid hit, but it seems that Ephron might have been writing about a subject way too close to her. It feels like she wanted to lay bare what she experienced in her marriage, but instead we have a boring of events with no chemistry between the leads, no character development or arcs, and no reason to care about any of it. There are tiny sparks with the supporting cast (Catherine O’Hara as a delightful gossip queen, couple Stockard Channing and Richard Masur, and Yakov Smirnoff as a remodeler) but they are quickly snuffed out. I did find it incredibly sweet to see Streep interacting with infant Mamie Gummer and I’ve always loved the two Carly Simon songs featured during the film.