Jason Reitman's film is a ponderously didactic ensemble drama that is so determined to deliver its message about setting aside electronic devices in order to personally connect with one another that it doesn't bother to create credible characters, situations, or dialogue. Men, Women & Children is built around interlocking plot threads. In one, unhappy suburban married couple Don (Adam Sandler) and Helen (Rosemary DeWitt) reach out for companionship via the Internet while their teen son, Chris (Travis Tope), becomes so addicted to online porn that he can't respond to the allure of sultry classmate Hannah (Olivia Crocicchia), a cheerleader whose mother, Donna (Judy Greer), helps her to post revealing photos on the web to jumpstart an acting career. Meanwhile, Patricia (Jennifer Garner) obsessively monitors her daughter Brandy's (Kaitlyn Dever) online connections, but the girl nevertheless starts a clandestine romance with Tim (Ansel Elgort), a sensitive guy who has quit the football team in order to play an interactive Internet war game. Finally, we have a tale involving Allison (Elena Kampouris), an anorexic girl so besotted with another jock that she goes to bed with him. All the stories take a dark turn, emphasizing the alienation arising from overreliance on electronics at the expense of human contact. And just in case you don't get the message, a ludicrous framing device presents shots of the Voyager spacecraft hurtling through space while the voice of Emma Thompson points out how insignificant Earth is in the cosmic scheme of things and suggests that we all ought to be kinder to one another. Banality posing as profundity, this glum and glibly admonitory film is not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “Virtual Intimacy” behind-the-scenes segment (14 min.), deleted scenes (10 min.), and a “Seamless Interface” production featurette (9 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing film.] (F. Swietek)
Men, Women & Children
Paramount, 119 min., R, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99, Jan. 13 Volume 30, Issue 1
Men, Women & Children
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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