While We're Young
I am definitely a decade too old to truly appreciate this funny, light-hearted and sometimes ridiculous movie, but there were moments when I thought the director Noah Baumbach skated right toward brilliance and then backed off and kept with the smart, slick and predictable observations of a media-saturated, self-involved, privileged urban lifestyle. The movie grapples with some big cultural ideas, and despite my own aversion to both Ben Stiller (way too self-conscious bordering on obnoxious) and Adam Driver (unfair, admittedly, due to my dislike of that other show), their acting was so good and the story line so convincing that I found myself actually pulling for Ben Stiller's character for maybe the first time in --- forever. Other than that, the thought crossed my mind that Noah Baumbach might be too close to the culture he observes to really make an incisive statement about it, hence the skating analogy, but then I thought Fellini sure could do it and did it in La Dolce Vita, so -- well -- I'm old and glad to be just an observer rather than a participant.
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Did you ever see "Flirting With Disaster?" I loved that movie and Ben Stiller was in it along with everyone else in the world. Hank will NOT watch a movie with Stiller in it. He finds him too painful to bear.
ReplyDeleteI did, and I loved that movie! I think that was before Ben Stiller became too big for his britches, and I'm with Hank. It took a lot to get me to that movie. I wonder if Hank shares my dislike of Arnold Schwarteneggar, Hilary Swank, Keira Knightley and James Spader?
DeleteNoah Baumbach left the fabulous Jennifer Jason Leigh and took up with the actress, Greta Gerwig, formerly of indie films. Gerwig is a lot like Leigh I think but of course about 25 years younger. Sigh.
ReplyDelete- Karen
I do want to see this, though I am not a Ben Stiller fan either. (I think we've talked about this?!) I loved "Frances Ha" and I am hoping for another film of similar quality, if not in the same precise vein.
ReplyDeletei saw the preview and now have that "1985" song stuck in my head for the first time since....uh, about 1981 when the song came out. I saw the preview with the movie "The Wrecking Crew", a documentary about the session musicians in the 60s, which was very entertaining.
ReplyDeleteThis is a smart comedy about how dumb we all can get as we get older, and how each generation’s art and morality will always be a bit of a vexing enigma to the generation that proceeded them. One of the better, sharper comedies I’ve seen in a long while.
ReplyDelete