While We’re Young is a new indie movie with limited release, possibly aimed at aging hipsters. Despite the fact that its release was limited to a small amount of theaters, this one could wind up being a sleeper hit.
Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts play a 40-something couple who is more than content with their decision to not have children. In fact, they mention it so much that you start to think they’re protesting too much. Conflict comes in when they meet a spirited 20 something couple (Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried). There’s some generational culture clash and much self-deprecation on Ben Stiller’s part. While the premise isn’t exactly exciting, I found myself incredibly intrigued by this charming indie gem.
The culture clash is powerful. The younger couple is part of the entitlement generation that kind of just expects everything to work out. The older couple is part of Generation X, which is marked with an almost constant sense of impending doom. Ben Stiller’s character especially, is a man on the edge. He’s tried his entire life to earn a name for himself as a respected documentary maker, but to date, everyone has failed to recognize his genius. Being in his mid forties, he’s at an age where he’s starting to wonder if his dreams will ever come true, of if he’s doomed to mediocrity. As a 30 something, I know the feeling.
The movie has an almost Woody Allen feel, in the way it makes fun of the New York Hipster subculture. The older couple especially, seems to be clinging to the culture in an effort to cling to their youth. The characters are brilliant, but completely immature, and their interactions make the movie work.
It’s a movie that really focuses on that blurry line of middle age, when it’s too late to do some things, and feels too late to change direction. Because there’s nothing we can do about it, we spend the majority of our time trying to convince ourselves that our choices were right. It’s the perfect recipe for a midlife crisis and people who might fall into this middle of the road age bracket will be able to easily understand.
When you get about two thirds of the way in, the movie drops its breezy atmosphere and starts to get very heavy. It feels like one person wrote the first half of the movie, while a manic depressive wrote the rest, because out of nowhere the movie gets really dark.
Regardless of that, this is still a good movie. People who remember Woody Allen movies will be reminded of them, while the hipster vibe will resonate with younger crowds, at least the ones that are ok with laughing at themselves. The dialog is well done, the conflicts, at least for the first two thirds, are believable, and the characters are well rounded. Chances are you know someone who is very much like one of the characters in this movie. They did a good job of writing them funny, without going awkward.
It’s a good movie for adults who are looking for something breezy and indie and is easily worth the watch, despite a somewhat heavy ending.
WE GIVE IT: 4.5 STARS! Official Movie Trailer and Movie Poster Below.
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