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We watched it last night. I would agree that it’s reasonably intelligent (though not throughout) and quite perceptive in places. But we didn’t find it hilarious, and certainly didn’t laugh every minute as the DVD case implied. We did smile a few times, and appreciated that it wasn’t meant to be taken too seriously. And yet some important issues are covered.
Josh (Ben Stiller) and Cornelia (Naomi Watts) are a married couple in their early forties. They’re not unhappy, exactly, but seem to be drifting apart. We quickly learn that although they tried to have a family, it wasn’t successful. And they’re both fairly content with the circumstances, pointing out that they can go wherever they want any time…even though they rarely go anywhere. We first meet them feeling rather awkward with their friends Marina and Fletcher who have just become doting parents.
Josh has produced some good films in the past but has been feeling very blocked, and isn’t getting anywhere with his latest production, which he has been working on for eight years. His funding has dried up, and his editor is getting a bit fed up with not being paid. We see snippets of a long and rather tedious film.
Josh also lectures, and meets a young couple (in their twenties) called Jamie (Adam Driver) and Darby (Amanda Seyfried). They express strong admiration for Josh’s work and say that they want to make documentaries too. Josh has made it clear that documentaries need to be real and honest. He and Cornelia have dinner with Jamie and Darby and strike up a friendship.
There’s some mildly amusing contrast between their lifestyles; Jamie and Darby are very relaxed, bohemian and also surprisingly ‘retro’. Josh has CDs and DVDs, Jamie and Derby have a huge vinyl record collection. Josh starts trying to emulate Jamie, buying a similar hat and shoes, but realises that he isn’t in his twenties any more…
The action is quite fast, sometimes rapidly showing images that communicate without words, as we see the progress of this rather lopsided relationship. Cornelia tries to stay in touch with her older friends but they are totally caught up in baby activities and she feels as if they have moved in a different direction. So she and Jamie go to a bizarre new age weekend where they take drugs and start hallucinating and then throwing up, which is gross rather than amusing, in my view.
I wondered a few times what the plot was, and where the story was going, if anywhere. I didn’t really understand all the ramifications of the documentaries that were being made and discussed, or why Josh seemed determined to have hours and hours of rather dull material in his production. I was also unimpressed with the regular use of ‘strong’ language - the same word, dozens of times, used casually, making the speakers seem immature and lacking creativity.
However, the acting is in general good, the music blends in well, and it’s quite thought-provoking as Josh and Cornelia wonder whether youth has passed them by, or whether they are in fact more comfortable with who they are. The story itself gets going towards the end when Josh realises something that changes his perception. There’s quite a dramatic scene towards the end as two characters argue about what authenticity and honesty really mean.
There’s a brief epilogue too, which I liked, showing two of the characters a year later, with friends in what I thought was quite an encouraging conclusion.
The rating is 15, which must be due to the excessive amount of bad language. There’s no violence or nudity, or anything more intimate than a few passionate kisses.
I don't know that I'd particularly recommend it, but if you see it in a charity shop and want something a. bit different, it's not a bad film.
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