At this point Noah Baumbach has, with a scalpel-like precision, explored the edgy contours of marriage in The Squid and the Whale, crafted a scathing portrayal of middle-aged anger in Greenberg, and skirted the frivolous troubles of twenty-somethings in Frances Ha. It can be argued that none of these movies, for all their pointed and notable commentary on life, are especially appealing to audiences. Baumbach has never been the type to reach out in that way; to seek the warm embrace of mainstream acceptance. So it's interesting and to everyone's benefit that his latest film, While We're Young, which touches on themes present in all of the previously mentioned films, is his funniest and most appealing yet.
The title says it all and yet doesn't
nearly encompass everything Baumbach hits upon. Ben Stiller and Naomi
Watts are Josh and Cornelia, a childless married couple who feel they may have
let life pass them by in just about every way imaginable. He's a documentary
filmmaker with one hit to his credit, but has been struggling with the same,
rather droll film for years. She's a producer who works with her father
(Charles Grodin), a famous documentarian and the inspiration for Josh's career.
Josh and Cornelia aren't in trouble; they love one another completely but their
marriage isn't really going anywhere. There's no excitement, no progress, and
it doesn't help that their best friends (Maria Dizzia and The Beastie
Boys' Adam Horovitz have started having kids. Invites to "come and
see the baby" are about all the excitement they have to look forward to.
Their lives are given a kick start when
Josh makes quick friends with Jamie (Adam Driver), a young hipster
jack-of-all-trades who admires his work and wants to follow in the same
footsteps. He's married to Darcy (Amanda Seyfried), who makes doing nothing
seem really cool. She makes her own ice cream and drags Cornelia to hip-hop
dance classes (I'll watch Naomi Watts dance rather than Step Up any day), but
she basically makes doing nothing seem cool. Jamie and Darcy make everything
seem cool, which fascinates the older couple. Jamie has a fascination with all
of the things Josh loved growing up, making him seem hip by association. Soon
Josh is wearing the same clothes and talking like Jamie, while Cornelia is
similarly invigorated. Their marriage also finds a spark it hasn't had since
they were young.
While Baumbach could have just left it
there as a simple look at an older couple's newfound vigor, which in itself is
full of some pretty big laughs, he takes it in another interesting direction.
Josh is a traditionalist who believes documentary filmmaking should emerge
organically from a deeply personal place. He loves to quote Jean-Luc Godard who
said ""Fiction is about me, documentary is about you", without
recognizing the irony that his long-developing project clearly isn't very
personal. But Jamie is young, and unafraid to use whatever means are necessary
to launch his own filmmaking career. Some of the choices he makes put his
friendship with Josh to the test. Josh isn't known for working well with
others, but when Jamie asks for help he can't refuse. It doesn't take long for
him to realize that their approaches are very very different. Jamie plays a bit
loose with the true meaning of what a documentary is, which drives Josh up a
wall and sends him on a crusade to prove the young kid wrong. So who's right on
this score? Is it the old school or the new school? Baumbach plays it down the
middle, refusing to rip the youth for their ambition and reality TV/IPod
upbringing. At the same time he shows no patience for guys like Josh who wasted
their opportunity and now feel as if they are owed something.
Baumbach's funniest moments come when he
examines nostalgia that has been reborn to a whole new generation. "I
remember when this song was just considered bad,” Josh says when Jamie plays
'Eye of the Tiger' to get inspired. There are numerous little asides like that
which simply work, aided by great performances by all involved. Stiller seems
to do his best work when paired up with Baumbach, and hopefully it's a lasting
union. Watts has always been one of the best-rounded actresses around and this
may be her best part in years. Driver continues to shine and it's easy to see
why every top filmmaker has been dying to work with him. Somehow he makes Jamie
someone we can understand and even root for even when his motives get a bit
murky. The only one who gets short shrift is Seyfried, and that's just because
Darcy's character isn't fleshed out as the others are. If there's a small
quibble it's that some audiences will zone out when the discussion turns to the
"right" way to make a documentary. Those in the know will appreciate
that it's handled with some care, but others will be looking for the next gag
about old age.
While We're Young is easily Baumbach's finest, most understanding film yet.
We're seeing a director who has learned and evolved from his prior efforts,
delivering one of the year's best films as a result.
Rating: 4 out of 5
