I had a friend recently ask me if I’d seen the movie with Meryl Streep called “Hope Springs.” Meryl and her husband, played by Tommy Lee Jones, are in dire need of couples counseling and they go to love guru, Steve Carell. I haven’t seen the movie, to be totally honest. You’d think I would have: I’m a couple’s therapist, and a sexologist. I also lead Intensives for couples; apparently very similar to the one Steve Carell led for Meryl and Tommy in this movie. A lot of my friends said they liked the movie, they said that it was heartwarming and sweet. And that they could relate.
My friend was confused. My friend is a guy, and he’s gay. He said to me, “Ok, presumably the movie is ‘a funny and insightful look’ into the lives of two people trying to regain their romantic footing after 31 years of marriage, right?” Because I haven’t seen the movie, I admit I don’t know if it’s funny and insightful. But he is really asking me because I am a sex expert. He wants my expert opinion.
“Is this how straight couples really act? Is this movie suggesting that holding each other should elicit gales of laughter from the audience? Is this supposed to be funny?”
In my latest YourTango article, read more about what gay marriage can teach us about sex in long-term relationships.
Leave a Reply