Recognize the Connecticut Town in New Movie 'Hope Springs'?

Two sunny-side up eggs. One slice of bacon. A cup of coffee.

That is the breakfast that Kay (Meryl Streep) makes her husband, Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) every day in Sony’s Hope Springs, which opened in theaters Wednesday.

While their daily routine remains constant right to sleeping in separate bedrooms at night, the older couple couldn’t be falling further out of sync. Kay – not to be confused with an alien-fighting man in black from the ‘90s – is sick of feeling like she is “married to ESPN.” But Arnold thinks everything is fine, so Streep’s character – much more timid than her role as the overbearing Miranda Priesly in The Devil Wears Prada, also directed by David Frankel – usually says nothing.

That’s where Dr. Feld (Steve Carell) comes in. After coercing Arnold into a week of intensive couples therapy, Kay and her husband travel to charming town of Great Hope Springs, Maine to rekindle the spark that made them fall in love before marrying 31 years ago.  With talk of “sexercises” in the trailer, you might expect Massachusetts native Carell to be a goofy Michael Scott type with crude one-liners. But the reserved Carell you get hardly cracks a smile. Even without his usual boisterous delivery, he still gets you to laugh as the normalcy of his questions for Kay and a gruff Arnold juxtapose the awkwardness of having to talk about their sex lives to a stranger. Playing straight man comic, he lines up the jokes for Streep and Jones to hit with clever subtlety.

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There are hardly any characters in the movie besides the three leads, but the character lies in Great Hope Springs itself. Streep and Jones may have to fly to get to the fictional Maine shoreline town, but Connecticut residents can drive to it. The . Streep lives a couple hours from there in Salisbury, CT.

Great Hope Springs, Connecticut might not sound as sexy as Great Hope Springs, Maine, but Connecticut is becoming more of a draw for filmmakers. Our state offers a 30 percent tax break. Despite its small size, Connecticut has diverse scenery, from beaches to rolling hills to cities. 

Does Stonington make a convincing small town in Maine? Except for the fact that the waves are much smaller on Long Island Sound than up north, yes.

Kay and Arnold leave the quaint town will Dr. Feld’s teachings have an impact outside of a vacation setting?

For that, it will require more than intimacy. They’ll need to discover whether their love can stand time.

Hope Springs is showing at the following theaters near Rocky Hill:

• , 19 Frontage Rd, Berlin
• , 42 South Main St., West Hartford
  
• , 99 Redstone Rd, Manchester 
• , 996 Meriden Waterbury Tpke, Plantsville

More information on movie times and local theaters is available on fandango.com.

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