The Beatles once sang 'All You Need is Love'. That's all well and good but what happens when the love you once had at some point trades in its Air Miles and buggers off to pastures new? What's left is a relationship that is seemingly running on empty, with both parties completely unaware of the big heart-shaped void that now exists between them.

David Frankel's film captures that moment when one member of a couple decides that enough is enough and that something has to give, one way or another.

After thirty one years of marriage, Kay (Meryl Streep) has had about enough of hubby Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones); they have reached that stage in their relationship that finds them living completely different lives under the same roof – they don't even sleep in the same bedroom anymore.

It's not that he's unkind, but what love they had between them has long since passed its sell by date. Not happy with the current situation, she books them in for intensive marriage counselling sessions with Dr Feld (Steve Carell).

Begrudgingly, Arnold agrees, so the pair head off to the pretty town of Great Hope Springs.

The process gets off to a rocky start, which isn't helped by the fact that they're staying in the dull confines of an EconoLodge. After a while however, the couple find that perhaps that the love between them hasn't necessarily packed its bags for good after all.

Hmm... the problem is, the book doesn't specify whether I have to peel it first...

Love is all about chemistry, and the same can be said about acting. Hope Springs is lifted above being decidedly average by the adorable performances from its two leads. Streep and Jones breeze through this feature effortlessly, but that's not to say their short-changing audiences, far from it. This isn't a drama that needs to have the kitchen sink thrown in for good measure. It's a comedy that, somewhat surprisingly, explores the dying embers of a relationship between a long-term couple, and how they go about re-igniting it.

The key, it seems, is sex. Frankel shows no fear in allowing a mature couple to be reminded of the importance of the physical side of things, all without resorting to full blown nudity, which considering the age of both the leads, is probably something that no-one really needed to see. And yet Frankel doesn't shy away from talk of blow jobs and masturbation, which may come as a surprise for a 12 rated flick.

The writing feels like it would have benefitted from coming from the pen of someone like the late Nora Ephron, but luckily for writer Vanessa Taylor, Streep and Jones mould the material they have into something quite magical on screen.

Steve Carell's performance shouldn't be overlooked either; it's quite possibly his most sedate performance to date, but he knows that his role is simply to support and to most definitely not outshine.

It's a shame that its soundtrack is so darn intrusive. Possibly due to fulfilling the requirements of flogging an original soundtrack release, Frankel litters the film with not only truly appalling songs, but pumps up the volume at completely inappropriate times.

The upshot of the film is obvious: to stay in love needs work on both parts. Its heart comes from Streep and Jones, who, unlike their characters, still clearly know which buttons to push as far as acting's concerned.

The pair give the kind of winning performances that could leave you feeling, somewhat falsely perhaps in the only way that Hollywood knows, that where love is concerned, there's hope for us all.