WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
Writer/director Noah Baumbach (“The Squid & The Whale“, “Margot At The Wedding“) is at the helm with this story set in New York City and focusing on the lives of 40-something couple Josh and Cornelia (Ben Stiller & Naomi Watts). Childless and surrounded by friends with families and somewhat mundane lives, things are shaken up when the pair are introduced to 20-somethings Jamie and Darby (Adam Driver & Amanda Seyfried), thanks to the two attending a class taught by Josh at a local college. Immediately, if unexpectedly, drawn to the younger couple’s vibrant, free-spirited attitudes towards daily life and the activities therein, Josh and Cornelia allow themselves to get deeply involved in the newfound friendships, changing many aspects of their own lives to fit the much-missed days of their youth. Josh, who finds a kindred filmmaking spirit in Jamie, opens himself up to assisting Jamie with film career aspirations, but at the cost of his own, much-delayed film project being worked on. As more time goes by, the visible strain on Josh and Cornelia’s own marriage begins to show, as other circumstances involving Jamie and Darby begin to cause rifts between them on multiple levels. Events continue to spiral further and further out of control, and it all culminates into a final breaking point, especially for Josh, who ultimately feels like everything he’s ever had or strived for has slipped away in the desire to be young again. But at what cost does that search come?
Filled with quite a bit of promise based on the overall storyline and cast, “While We’re Young” in total fell short for this reviewer. Expecting more of a light-hearted, playfully whimsical approach to its concept of the desire to regain youth, the film started with that idea but then takes it in a much more serious direction, losing its sense of fun and replacing it with a melancholy tone that undermines the funny, eccentric opening premise. Now, this is not to say that Stiller, Watts, Driver, and Seyfried don’t deliver on the acting front, as the plight of the characters they play is very successfully portrayed with effective intention, each bringing out both the joys and trials associated in the lives they lead. Again, it’s more the somber second act of this effort that weighs it all down, when this reviewer felt it should have remained a more cheery and effervescent journey. Heavy bouts of language also set a more dull atmosphere as well, especially as the character’s adventures begin to fray. In total, “While We’re Young” wasn’t a complete disaster as much as a disappointment in seeing a well-written, character-driven concept stall. Yes, lessons get learned in hard ways, and the pursuit of ones youth is an interesting task to tackle in this way, but only wishing that said lessons could have been conclusively taught in a more positive way. But, as Josh and Cornelia discovered, sometimes the things we want don’t always work out the way we hoped.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
