Noah Baumbach has allowed his inner-Woody Allen to surface over the years, focusing more on the deeper life struggles of (sometimes wannabe) intellectual city-folk. “While We’re Young” (2015) is no exception, and now with its Blu-ray released today, you can experience the film from the comfort of your own home. (For a full review, check out Christopher Lloyd’s Film Yap review!)
Josh (Ben Stiller) is a documentary filmmaker working on an eight-year project with no end in sight. He’s a proud purist, seeking success without possessing the know-how to attain it, thus making a living teaching a continued-education documentary course at a local college. Sweet life, right? Josh’s wife, Cornelia (Naomi Watts), is a producer and the daughter of famous documentarian Leslie Breitbart (Charles Grodin). They are middle-aged, following the routine many married couples groove their way into. As their friends start families of their own, Josh and Cornelia begin to feel out of place, not knowing how to relate to the people that have been closest to them for years.
Soon they meet some lively millennials, Jamie (Adam Driver) and Darby (Amanda Seyfried), a hipster couple full of vibrant creativity and contagious youth. Jamie is a documentary filmmaker, as well, and expresses his admiration for Josh. Darby makes homemade ice cream and takes hip-hop dance classes. They are a couple with nothing to lose, always living in the now, refusing to compromise with the modern generation.
As the two couples begin to spend more time together, we find Josh and Cornelia going through a bit of a midlife crisis. Do they continue to grow up, or revert back to the youth they wasted away?
“While We’re Young” is a surprisingly rich film about living life, dealing with the inevitability of age and, by proxy, death. It finds time to comment on ethics and morality, reference an extensive film history and still focus on the two protagonists while they journey through their crises. It’s not a perfect film, and many may not find it entertaining, but it has a lot to offer if you’re one willing to consider the subtext.
Stiller gave one of my favorite performances in the film, which is surprising to me because I’ve never been a huge fan. It’s in part due to his similarity to Woody Allen’s character, Cliff, in “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (1989) — one of my very favorite films of the ‘80s. They both struggle to create meaningful art against all odds, capturing long takes of academics monotonously talking ad nauseum about subjects that would put most people to sleep. They both have in-laws who have been more successful than them, refusing to turn to them for aid in an attempt to retain some level of dignity that only they can see. I’m proud of you, Ben. Good job!
Watts, Driver and Seyfried are fantastic here, as well; the whole cast, really. One of my favorite moments involves both couples and they’re trying to remember a word. Josh begins to look it up on his phone and is immediately stopped by Jamie, “No, that’s too easy!” Once they have all given up, Josh says “Can I now?” holding up his smartphone, to which Jamie replies, “No, let’s just not know what it is.” It’s a perfectly pretentious scene that conveys everything we need to know about both couples. It’s small, and many may see it as a throwaway, but it’s a scene that’s stuck with me since my screening.
The extras on the Lionsgate Blu-ray are fine, but nothing too exciting. They consist of six vignettes: four short featurettes on the cast, director Noah Baumbach, Charles Grodin, and “Generation Tech”; and two behind-the-scenes segments focused on the ayahuasca ceremony and hip-hop class, both of which are tied to scenes in the film, of course. They are reminiscent of HBO’s First Look featurettes, acting more as promotions for the film rather than insightful, informative supplements for the viewer. That said, they’re not the reason to buy the Blu-ray, but they’re worth watching. There are also trailers that can be viewed amidst the bonus material.
In sum, buy the Blu-ray because you enjoy (or want to see) the movie. The Blu-ray and DVD can be found on Amazon for $15.99 and $11.99, respectively. It’s well worth your time.
Film: 4 Yaps Extras: 3 Yaps