I've long suspected that the extravagant praise lavished on Noah Baumbach's films (Frances Ha, Greenberg) hails from critics and Big Apple residents who can relate to the misery of snarky, neurotic New Yorkers. This dreary, doleful story begins pretentiously with quotations from Henrik Ibsen's The Master Builder, after which it becomes immediately obvious that fortysomethings Josh (Ben Stiller) and Cornelia (Naomi Watts) regret that the fizz has gone out of their marriage. Most of their friends have become child-centric, while they have not. When he isn't teaching filmmaking in continuing education, Josh turns his attention to the sociopolitical documentary he's been working on for the past 10 years. Meanwhile, Cornelia produces films with her famous documentarian father (Charles Grodin). One night, after twentysomethings Jamie (Adam Driver) and Darby (Amanda Seyfried) fawn over Josh's lecture, he invites them to join him and Cornelia for dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant. One encounter naturally leads to another. As the self-involved older Gen Xers become steadily infatuated with these insufferably energetic Brooklyn hipsters, they feel as if they're recapturing their youth. Darby makes almond/avocado-flavored ice cream, while Jamie is an aspiring documentarian whose integrity and authenticity are questionable. Perhaps Woody Allen could have made their collective anxiety funny, but Baumbach's bantering goes off on strange tangents. What does work, however, is the casting, as the talented ensemble is far better than the superficial material. Stiller nails frantic, middle-aged frustration, while Watts is relentlessly supportive, Driver epitomizes sleazy selfishness, Seyfried is compelling as the one who eventually catches on, and Grodin evokes renowned documentary filmmakers like the late Albert Maysles and Frederick Wiseman. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include six behind-the-scenes featurettes (11 min. total), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for an insular film that will most appeal to NYCers.] (S. Granger)
While We're Young
Lionsgate, 97 min., R, DVD: $19.98, Blu-ray: $24.99, June 30 Volume 30, Issue 4
While We're Young
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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