Movie Breakdown: While We’re Young

People are doing traditional-style reviews all over the web, so we decided to try something different.  In each “breakdown” we’ll take a look at what a film’s marketing led us to believe, how the movie actually played, and then what we learned from it all.  Read on!

The Impression:

Noah Baumbach’s latest stars Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts as two forty-somethings siphoning energy and inspiration out of two twenty-somethings played by Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried.  Looks like a charmer!

The Reality:

Being a kid is hard.  Growing up is hard.  Getting older is hard.  Being old is hard.  Life overall is just hard.  We all know it.  So why the hell do we need to be told this via a film that features well-off white people unable to “find” themselves?  We don’t.  At all.  However, I’m still recommending Noah Baumbach’s While We Young.  As it turns out, the film is less of a “woe is me, I’m too privileged to be happy” affair and more of a self aware look at the missteps that some people take in life.  It’s a film that’s funny, charming, slightly alarming and just grounded enough to keep from being unrelatable, and I liked it a lot.  See it when you can.

By the way, Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts have great chemistry and are wonderful in While We’re Young.  Their characters ride a fine line between being relatable and goofy (in like a bad Ben Stiller-comedy kind of way), and they both do a nice job of never leaning too far to either side.  Also, big ups to Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried for perfectly portraying mega-trendy hipsters.

The Lesson:

Hey Baumbach, I forgive you for Frances Ha.