Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

While We're Young
2014
****
Director: Noah Baumbach
Cast: Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried, Charles Grodin, Brady Corbet, Ryan Serhant, Maria Dizzia, Adam Horovitz, Peter Yarrow

Josh and Cornelia, a childless couple in their 40s, appear to have nothing in common with their long-time friends who have a baby. A sudden and surprising friendship with 20-somethings Jamie and Darby feels all the more like a breath of fresh air. Josh is a struggling documentary filmmaker who begins to regain his confidence when he helps Jamie shoot a Catfish-like personal documentary about his old high school friend. After the grating Greenberg and Frances Ha, Noah Baumbach makes his most accessible film to date. This is a funny and well-observed comedy about getting old and about authenticity in life and art. Being roughly the same age as Baumbach, I find it is easy to relate to his depiction of the joys and humiliations of middle age. His film is peppered with several lovely sight gags about generational differences. For example, what Josh and Cornelia consider as outdated and impractical relics (typewriters, VHS tapes, and LPs), Jamie and Darby cherish as hipster treasures.