Review of Men, Women & Children (2014) by Colten S — 16 Oct 2014

So Men, Women, and Children was probably one of the most frustrating movies I've ever seen. It's probably one of the best examples of how a HORRIBLE script can bring down a movie with otherwise decent to fantastic acting, a compelling visual style, beautiful cinematography, and a great background score.

First off, the movie starts off very promisingly. There' s a slightly pretentious intro + background narration, but I initially forgave it because the movie seemed to be venturing into such bold, interesting territory. I loved how on point Jason Reitman was with how people explore and navigate websites throughout their daily lives, and how the screens we become accustomed to become a part of our routine. Yet as the movie progressed, and each individual story arc kept going, it became clear that the movie had nothing deeper or more profound to say about ANYTHING. Its observations are extremely facetious, and IMO never allowed for a deeper exploration of the movie's characters, which is another problem...

This movie has far more story lines and characters than it knows what to do with. Arcs such as that of the anorexic girl and Adam Sandler's sexually confused child disappear from the movie for long stretches, and they ultimately build up to meaningless conclusions. Even the story arcs that seemed more interesting to me are problematic on a conceptual level, in that they seem so far removed from reality, and feel like screenwriters over-exaggerating the negative influence of technology. I'm all for a dark or hyperbolic look at how the Internet affects us, but this movie is very clearly trying to ground itself in reality, making its extreme moments seem completely out of place.

Also, this is a gripe I have in general with Hollywood movies, but the depiction of high school kids is atrocious-- an issue I thought Reitman would have avoided given how well he did with Juno. This applies to the cringe-worthy dialogues, as well as the unbelievable stories.

Yet I'd be mistaken if I said the movie was completely horrible. Performances all around were pretty great, especially from (surprise, surprise) Adam Sandler, Dean Norris, Judy Greer, Ansel Elgort, and Kaitlyn Denver. Jennifer Garner is OK, but her role is rather lacking, and never really goes anywhere.

All in all, Men, Women, and Children is a profoundly disappointing experience. For every minute detail Jason Reitman gets right, he seemingly displays ten times as many melodramatic, unintentionally hilarious, and facile observations that greatly hurt the overall film.