In film after film, writer/director Noah Baumbach continues to ask us to observe complicated, truthful, stressed out people who are looking for clarity in their lives and who make decisions that sometimes aren’t the best way to go. While We’re Young is incredibly funny without ever resorting to stupidity to earn those laughs, with a barbed screenplay that has one terrific line of dialogue after another, all of it witty and clever and all too knowing. The open contempt that’s ladled on our parent-child-obsessed society and the millenial generation was bracing and critical and hilarious. The final moments of the movie sting with the harsh truths of where the youth of today are headed. Without spoiling anything, this is the story of two couples, one in their early 40’s and the other in their early 20’s, and how their paths cross, and how everyone slowly realizes just how out of touch they all are with those around them. Ben Stiller is great here, doing more great work for Baumbach after his pained and stinging performance in the monumentally underrated Greenbergh, in total synch with the material, as was Naomi Watts, who delivered an emotionally complex performance which registers as one of her best. And Adam Driver continues to prove that he’s a reservoir of comic talent in so many unique ways, presenting a character that’s equal parts off-putting and weirdly engaging.
Cynical, intelligent, dry as the Nevada desert, and consistently funny both in a laughing-out-loud and LQTM manner, this is Baumbach’s finest overall effort since The Squid and the Whale (I’ve still not seen Mistress America but that disc is on its way from Netflix). I love how incisive his writing is, how he’s able to get great dramatic work out of Stiller, and how he loves to make us squirm in all the best ways. Oh, and it’s a total pisser to see Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz absolutely nail his supporting role. And it goes without saying, Charles Grodin POWER, as he completely steals every single scene he appears in. Thanks A24 for yet again providing us with another EXCELLENT movie that has something relevant to say, doing so with class and integrity. For me, this is a virtually faultless film, with one fantastic scene after another occurring, spiked with great writing and observant direction, a work that’s sad and funny in equal measure, with its finger on the pulse of a generation of people who don’t exactly know what to do with their lives.
Podcasting Them Softly 