Review of Men, Women & Children (2014) by Kj P — 24 Sep 2014

Now here is a puzzle for you. Jason Reitman's "Men, Woman, and Children" is one of the most ambitious films I have seen in a very long time, and that reason alone almost kills the film sadly.

The first 20 or so minutes of this picture will have you mind-blown, chuckling, and possibly weeping if you are drawn to certain things, but none of that really pays off in the end which kind of pissed me off.

The film builds on so many vague ideas that it almost forgets that it made so many of them by the end and only reveals a fraction of what this film is trying to be. Writing and Directing, Jason Reitman designed a story here, that may have scarily true elements throughout, but it's the fact that he overinflates everything that he thinks is true about the human condition that hurts it.

I will say that every actor in this film does their absolute best and Adam Sandler is the most notable for giving a very down-to-earth performance here. These are the types of roles he should be taking nowadays.

"Men, Woman, and Children" is a very easy film to admire and even fall for during your experience, but it is just not the immersive digital exploitation film it makes itself out to be. We live in a treacherous universe of sex and digital manipulation, and that broad idea is just not explored to it's fullest potential.

I almost want to see a rewrite of this script, because the dialogue works in all the character moments and the actors were chosen very well, but there were some story lines being followed that I just did not care much for by the end.

"Men, Woman, and Children" is a missed opportunity, but a great acting showcase for all of these stars and there is an amazing message hidden deep inside this film that you can see, but it is almost laughably deep once reflected upon after the first viewing.

An admirable attempt at exploiting our flawed human condition.