Hope Springs - B

Rated PG-13, 100 minutes

Streep, Jones best part of the serviceable but honest "Hope Springs"

Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep

Even long-standing marriages need a spark or two to keep going, at least according to the movie "Hope Springs," that's part romantic comedy, part character study. The story is serviceable and entertaining, held together by the pleasant performances of leads Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones, who could easily make a movie better just by walking across the screen. Oscar-winners Streep and Jones are Kay and Arnold Soames, a devoted midwestern couple of 31 years, Kay works at a dress shop, Arnold an accountant. Feeling they have lost the spark in their marriage, Kay enrolls them in a workshop in a small town in the northeast with a renowned marriage thereapist, Dr. Bernie Feld (Steve Carrell). Uneasy and hesitant, the two must find ways to re-ignite the passion in their marriage and rediscover their attraction for each other. Directed by David Frankel ("The Big Year") and with a script by TV's Vanessa Taylor, "Hope Springs" is a honest, amusing and low-key portrait of a married couple reigniting the romance in their marriage. The script runs too many predictable courses and it's likely to have limited appeal outside mature audiences, but Streep and Jones, much like their characters devotion to their marriage, make it work with sincere, mild performances, particularly from Streep (in a nice, quieter performance after her Oscar-winning turn in "The Iron Lady"). Jones gives a typically gruff performance, while Carrell gives a very palpable turn as the sensitive therapist who never gives up on the couple. The therapy scenes provides "Hope Springs" with some of its best moments, especially as the two must open up about their sex life. Watch for small but memorable roles from Elisabeth Shue, Jean Smart and Mimi Rogers. Predictable but pleasantly entertaining, "Hope Springs" is worth it if just to see Streep and Jones.