While We’re Young – Cineplex Odeon Varsity and VIP Cinemas – March 19, 2015

 By Johna Autencio

This week I had the pleasure of attending the screening for While We’re Young, at the Odeon Varsity and VIP Cinemas.  

Writer-director Noah Baumbach’s (Fantastic Mr. Fox) latest film project stars Ben Stiller (Zoolander) and Naomi Watts (King Kong) as a middle-aged and childless couple, Josh and Cornelia, in While We’re Young.

Josh is a career-driven yet unsuccessful documentarian, while his wife Cornelia is a producer and daughter of a veteran filmmaker played by Charles Grodin.

One evening, Stiller’s character is approached by a twenty-something hipster couple – Jamie, an aspiring filmmaker, played by Adam Driver (HBO Girls), and his wife Darby, played by Amanda Seyfried (Les Miserables).

Jamie and Darby invite Josh to dinner, with Cornelia joining them shorty after. Intrigued by their youthful energy and lifestyle, Josh and Cornelia continue to make time for Jamie and Darby causing them to exclude their other friends with children.

As the couples get to know each other more, Josh and Cornelia begin to feel like they’re back in their 20s again; however, their relationship with their new friends start to take a toll on their own marriage.

While We’re Young is a dramedy-filled movie that has an exceptional storyline whose leading stars portrayed their characters perfectly. It was refreshing to watch Stiller in a more dramatic and relatable role opposed to his recent blockbuster bomb, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. But because he’s known for comedic roles, he still manages to balance both genres in this character.

Personally, I feel that Driver stole the spotlight from the film. His egotistical character was incredibly convincing, that it didn’t make me realize it was too good to be true. Although he was in a supportive role, his performance proves he can play any type of character whether he’s complicated in Girls or a playboy in This Is Where I Leave You.

In the end, the film is about acceptance and growing up. Every couple, young or old, knows there are always new challenges to face, but in While We’re Young, those challenges of being on the verge of a mid-life crisis with the urge to be young again is what made this film a pleasure to watch.

While We’re Young comes to theatres on March 27, 2015.