Stellead
Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful
ShangLuda
Admirable film.
Senteur
As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.
kosmasp
Growing up never felt so exhausting like it is depicted in this. It still feels fresh and has a lot of neat ideas. At least at the beginning, when we get behind what the main characters are feeling. Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts are amazing in their depiction of a couple with more than just one issue, even if they're not admitting to any of them. There's things you have to accept (like your body getting older and weaker for example, even if the mind doesn't see it that way) and others you have to learn to live with.But the movie is not contempt to just deal with those issues, but also a relationship with a younger couple. Something that opens up a new box of problems, but also a new perspective if you will. The ending is a bit messy, but the actors are saving it from itself (the script isn't that bad either)
xhidden99
Hard to tell. Did he set out to make fun of hipsters and middle aged people or does he secretly love them because they're fashionable upper middle class aesthetes, 'academics' and the cinema-class? Again hard to tell. Everyone has money and free time and no obligations....and they're miserable. And annoying. I'm kinda baffled. It's incisive in brief flashes but the dull parts that focus on dull people self referentially referring to themselves about themselves go on and on as if no one has ever discovered that most people are boring. We know they're boring. That's WHY we watch movies. We know couples that pour their lives into their kids. It's not a new thing. We know middle aged guys who are fools. But they know they're fools. If you don't know you're a fool then then you will always be a fool. A boring boring boring fool. Let's hope Noah's next movie is also about pompous intellectual film makers or maybe film critics. Or maybe college professors who teach film studies or film criticism.
Argemaluco
I'm not sure about the niche or sub-category occupied by Noah Baumbach in indie cinema, but I have liked most of the films he has been involved in, either as a director (The Squid and the Whale, Frances Ha) or as a screenwriter (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Fantastic Mr. Fox). In While We're Young, Baumbach occupies both positions, and I enjoyed the fascinating tour he offers us through the neurosis and internal turbulence from various picturesque characters on different stages of their lives very much. The clash between "hipsters" and "Gen-X" suggests the fact that While We're Young is a satire of the clichés which identify those social groups, one of them rising, and the other one, on its road to obsolescence... or at least passive complacency. And, effectively, there are some satire moments about the habits and affectations from both generations; but beyond those humorous comparisons, Baumbach built sincere and realistic characters who develop endearing connections with each other. The friendship between the young couple and the mature one seems strange on the beginning, but we eventually realize that both possess qualities complementing their respective emotional needs. The mature couple has experience and a better knowledge of the "real world", while the young one enjoy the energy of youth and isn't tied to a complex net of social or economic obligations, something which brings them an degree of freedom that is attractive for their mature friends. In summary, I found While We're Young an excellent character study with perfect performances from the whole cast, and with an interesting "personal crisis" premise solidly executed by Baumbach's melancholic sensibility. I liked this film very much, but I know that While We're Young has generally not found a good answer from critics and the general audience. Anyway, I would personally recommend it with enthusiasm, with the warning that it isn't a traditional Ben Stiller comedy. Sure, there's pretty much humor in the screenplay and the performances, but they never seek peals of laughter, but the astute observation of absurd or incongruent details which keep us amused while simultaneously leaving us thinking. In other words, don't expect the Stiller from Night at the Museum, but the one from Greenberg (which was curiously also written and directed by Baumbach). And don't expect a "feel good" ending either, but a "feel weird" one. That final scene is perfect for me to answer the eternal question "Why don't you have any children?".
851222
Greetings from Lithuania."While We're Young" (2014) is a good comedy drama that tells the story of how not grow old even if you are the age 44, but it is not a typical coming from age story. The script is smart and fun, at least for 2/3 of the movie. The last third of this movie wasn't as much fun because it was to smart for itself i guess, there were just to much going on and nothing for real. There were some truly funny moments, but this is not a slapstick comedy. Acting was very good by all 4 main characters, and i also loved Matthew Maher's acting. Directing was good, script is smart, but as i said last part of this movie was just to "important" the same way as Ben Stiller character - was all the stuff with last Stiller's speech about documentary movie making necessary?Overall, "While We're Young" tries to touch on many themes and ideas, and although i enjoyed this movie very much overall, it is a bit uneven. Till the middle i kinda saw that i was a bit manipulated of the way how Cornelia and Josh sees life "sterile" and they meet probably younger version of themselves but towards the end a film kinda lost it's way and turned into more serious film about documentaries, freedom of speech and etc. "While We're Young" is a good movie but a bit uneven.
