Review of While We're Young (2015) by Dave M — 20 Apr 2015

Growing older can be tough... but being young is no picnic either. I guess every age has its challenges - and its rewards. As people get older, they usually get wiser - and wealthier - allowing them to appreciate and enjoy life more. But getting older can also mean your body doesn't cooperate like it used to. For that reason, and others, those in our midst who are more mature, sometimes wish they had a second shot at youth, but with the wisdom that age brings. On the other hand, young people usually have bodies relatively free of health problems, but minds that are still developing, along with their attitudes and sense of self. Young people are usually more idealistic, energetic and ambitious, but often lack the life and work experience, the connections and the cash, to take full advantage of their youthful ideas and drive. "While We're Young" (R, 1:37) is a comedy-drama which takes all those situations and puts them in a blender. It's interesting to see what comes out.

Josh (Ben Stiller) and Cornelia (Naomi Watts) are a middle-aged couple living in New York City and dealing with typical mature adult frustrations - unachieved goals and dreams, unresolved family and professional issues, and a marriage that used to be more exciting when they were younger. Josh is a documentary film maker who has been working on his latest project for ten years. Cornelia works on documentaries with her father, Leslie Breitbart (Charles Grodin), who is a very successful and highly respected documentarian. Josh and Cornelia still love each other, but they need a little jolt of... something. They start to break out of their marital and professional rut when they meet and become friends with Jamie (Adam Driver) and Darby (Amanda Seyfried).

Jamie and Darby are an open-minded and care-free mid-20s couple who take life as it comes, experience as much of it as they can and enjoy it all to the fullest. Darby makes and sells unusual flavors of ice cream, and Jamie wants to make documentaries. That's what brings these couples together, and then they start hanging out. Sometimes, all four of them spend time together. Other times, Josh and Jamie talk shop and go bike riding, while Cornelia and Darby talk girl stuff and go shopping. Meanwhile, Josh and Cornelia are struggling to maintain their relationships with their more age-appropriate friends, especially Fletcher and Marina (Adam Horovitz and Maria Dizzia), who have a new baby, whereas Josh and Cornelia don't have kids. As Josh and Cornelia try to be both free-spirited 20-somethings and responsible 40-somethings, they have trouble fitting in to either group, and wonder where they really belong.

Then, just when you think you have this movie figured out and try to guess exactly how it's going to end, the story takes a sharp left. It's a detour that some may see as unnecessary, or even frustrating, but I found very interesting. About the time that the film has asked the most important questions it has to ask about the virtues and drawbacks of each couples' lives, one of the story's subplots mushrooms into the main thrust of the remainder of the movie and serves as an analogy for the issues that the script had explored up to that point. The movie's conclusion has a lot to say about the differences and the similarities between generations, the advantages and disadvantages of each and whether you're ever really too old or too young to be yourself and accomplish your goals.

I found "While We're Young" insightful and entertaining. Perhaps Stiller's greatest strength is the inherent earnestness and decency he brings to his characters, regardless of whether he's in a comedy or a drama. I think he's at his best when he's some of both, as he is here. For her part, Watts seems to reveal more of herself, both as an actress and as a human being, in each of her wide variety of roles, including this one. Together, Stiller and Watts have an easy chemistry that makes them the perfect individuals and the perfect couple to play these characters. Driver and Seyfried are also well-cast and offer up performances that are lived-in, although occasionally a little stiff. Grodin is convincing, but kind of dry as the man and the legend who casts a long shadow over his frustrated son-in-law. The script is intelligent in its story-telling and in the way it allows the characters to grow, but keeps it real by avoiding a trite happy ending for any of them. The comedy isn't very often LOL-funny, but is frequently STM (smiling to myself) amusing. Regardless of where you are in life, within this movie, you'll find at least one character to identify with and root for, and you'll leave the theater with something to think about. "B".