There are some nice moments in this sweet and sour look at a brief middle-age marriage. Indeed, there could hardly fail to be, considering the director is Mike Nichols and the stars Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson.

However, there are an awful lot of occasions when the film seems to be doing nothing in particular (except wasting Stockard Channing) and all the best moments go not to the stars, but to Steven Hill as the heroine's pretty alternative father. 'Men!' he says to his deceived daughter. 'I hate 'em! No wonder I hang around with women.'

Streep's character comes across as a not-too-bright flaky lady and Nicholson is the can't-help-it Lothario to the hilt. His best scene comes in a marvellously off-key rendition of My Boy Bill.

They do their best to glue the film's seams together and Carly Simon's music is a wistful plus. Every little sidedish helps when the main offering's as light as this.