While We’re Young
A middle-aged couple’s career and marriage are overturned when a disarming young couple enters their lives.
Cast
Ben Stiller – Josh
Naomi Watts – Cornelia
Adam Driver – Jamie
Amanda Seyfried – Darby
Charles Grodin – Leslie Breitbart
Brady Corbert – Kent
Unnecessary
What I found most with this movie is that much of it was unnecessary crap. The plot focuses on the two older characters and how they try to get back the energy and passion they used to have, by throwing themselves into various situations with the younger couple. Thing is, the whole concept just made me cringe as I sat there watching one pretentious scene after another. One bit shows the ‘gang’ cruising down a street in Jamie’s car, as he and a female friend of his howl a pathetic song at the top if their voices. It was positively eye-rolling stuff. In another, Josh and Cornelia join Darby and Jamie at an Ayahuasca session – which consists of them all hallucinating and erupting in bouts of vomiting. Buckets in hand, each character spouts brown liquid whilst trying to hold a conversation – I felt ill just watching it.
Eye-rolling. Cringing. This really wasn’t turning out good..
I know these events were all part of showing how the older couple were adjusting to a different lifestyle, but they came across as slightly tedious and unnecessary. Coupled with this was an underlying atmosphere of sadness; how the older couple meet the younger and within 24 hours have latched onto them as though they are infatuated. Overall, this concept wasn’t worth producing a movie about. Dull and sad, I would’ve left it on paper if I was the producer.
Life’s Not Like That
While We’re Young is almost a study of how Bohemians live their carefree lives. Jamie and Darby are dreamers who wear hippy clothes and funky hats. Their apartment is full of old-fashioned items such as VCR’s and record players. Their daily activities consist of leaving their apartment to go wander the sundrenched neighbourhood streets – dancing to the outdoor music and eating fresh fruit with friends. This couple are so relaxed, they hardly even work. And as for Jamie – every time he goes out for dinner with Josh, he never pays. He leaves the older guy to pick up the bill instead.
“..life’s not like that” I thought as I sat watching this sickly portrayal of a couple so hippy, they had hardly any money between them. Free spirits like these two are usually skint I suppose (hence the other character always paying the bill), but it was the overall portrayal of ‘we don’t need money, we’re happy just feeling the lyrics of our favourite music’ attitude I found extremely tedious. No worries, no cares.. if only life was like that and we could all live our lives in string bikinis without paying bills – great. But it’s not, and fortunately for some humans they do live like this – as a person who doesn’t, watching the young couple live their life without priorities irritated the fuck out of me. Perhaps in a different movie this concept would appear refreshing. Not here, not much.
The Love Child
The only element of this movie I found interesting is the fact actor Adam Driver who plays Jamie is like a mix of Keanu Reeves and Justin Long. Seriously, if this:
and this:
had a baby together (as impossible as this is, although I wouldn’t mind watching them try), that baby would grow into this:
It really is uncanny, how his features are a perfect blend of Reeves and Long.
Moving on..
What’s The Story?
This movie contained a plot that I couldn’t feel less interested in. Aside from an older couple becoming fascinated by a younger one, there is the small issue of Jamie producing a film with the help of Josh’s expertees. The plot is so light that it practically disappears, but returns at the end of the movie in an uneventful showdown between Josh and Jamie in a restaurant. As Ben Stiller stood ranting endlessly at his younger friend, I was getting ready to walk out of the cinema. The actors dragged the story out tediously, delivering no dynamic whatsoever – and in the end I wondered what the point of it was. This plot contained no interesting factors, no intrigue, and seemed irrelevant. And in the end, I ended up feeling kind of saddened by two adults trying to get back the passion they once had.
While We’re Young turned out to be one of the worst movies I’ve ever watched at the cinema. Yes, it contained one or two witty moments – usually delivered by Watts as her character tried to keep up with the younger female – but that aside, the movie was very poor. No solid structure, shabby script, uninteresting story. I’m finding it hard to sum it up due to having little substance to reflect on. So I think I’ll leave it here, and warn all potential viewers away from a feature that may turn out as one big disappointment.
Not good.
Really not good.
Ricky's Film Reviews 