Men, Women & Children (2014)

A group of high school teenagers and their parents attempt to navigate the many ways the Internet has changed their relationships, their communication, their self-image, and their love lives.

Director:

Jason Reitman

Writers:

Jason Reitman (screenplay), Erin Cressida Wilson (screenplay)

Stars:

Kaitlyn Dever, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ansel Elgort

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adam Sandler	...	Don Truby
Jennifer Garner	...	Patricia Beltmeyer
Rosemarie DeWitt	...	Helen Truby
Judy Greer	...	Donna Clint
Dean Norris	...	Kent Mooney
Emma Thompson	...	Narrator (voice)
Timothée Chalamet	...	Danny Vance
Olivia Crocicchia	...	Hannah Clint
Kaitlyn Dever	...	Brandy Beltmeyer
Ansel Elgort	...	Tim Mooney
Katherine Hughes	...	Brooke Benton (as Katherine C. Hughes)
Elena Kampouris	...	Allison Doss
Will Peltz	...	Brandon Lender
Travis Tope	...	Chris Truby
David Denman	...	Jim Vance

Storyline

Men, Women and Children follows the story of a group of high school teenagers and their parents as they attempt to navigate the many ways the internet has changed their relationships, their communication, their self-image, and their love lives. The film attempts to stare down social issues such as video game culture, anorexia, infidelity, fame hunting, and the proliferation of illicit material on the internet. As each character and each relationship is tested, we are shown the variety of roads people choose - some tragic, some hopeful - as it becomes clear that no one is immune to this enormous social change that has come through our phones, our tablets, and our computers.

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Plot Keywords:

internet | high school | computer | anorexia | video game | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content including graphic dialogue throughout-some involving teens, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 October 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pale Blue Dot

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$47,553 (USA) (3 October 2014)

Gross:

$461,162 (USA) (17 October 2014)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Right of Way Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie starts off with the camera looking into the Stars, while a film one of the cast members, Ansel Elgort, previously worked on, The Fault In Our Stars, was also starts off looking into the stars

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Goofs

At the start of the film, Voyager's parabolic dish antenna faces Earth, to transmit and receive data. At the end of the film, as Voyager is nearing the edge of the galaxy, the dish is facing away from Earth, making communication with it impossible.

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Quotes

Narrator: Like it or not, for the moment The Earth is where we make our stand.

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Connections

Referenced in Film 2016: Episode dated 17 December 2014 (2014)

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Soundtracks

Morning Star and Devil Bird
(uncredited)
Written by Traditional

User Reviews

An excellent movie, but perhaps a bit misunderstood.

I read the book when it came out, and absolutely loved it. I won't go too in depth into the differences between the book and the movie. Some characters were cut, some stories were shortened and rearranged, and the ending is somewhat less dark. However, I would say that all of these changes are understandable when making a two hour movie. The soul of the book is still there though. If you liked the book, you will like the movie. The directing and acting are great, and I have zero complaints in this department.

I do have a few complaints, starting with some parts of the plot seem like they would be hard to follow if you haven't read the book. There were segments of the story that would have benefited from a little more time spent on them for clarity. I am a fan of long movies, and understand that a lot of people are not, but I think an extra 15 minutes could have made a big difference.

The narration seems to be a sore subject among the other reviews I've read, and I have to say I have mixed feelings. I like the idea of narration in a book-turned-movie. There's a certain amount of context and motive behind characters' actions that can get glossed over in a movie if there's no narration, but it was too inconsistent in this case. It either needed more narration, or it needed to be limited to just the intro and outro.

I think the major issue with the movie is that people are focusing on the wrong parts of it. Everyone wants to talk about the blunt sexual content, and the excessive use of technology in the movie. To me, those are the things that make it a realistic story. Perhaps that's just because I'm in my twenties, and blunt sexual content and excessive technology use are a large percentage of my life. People call this a movie about how technology is ruining and/or changing relationships. I disagree. This movie is about growing up, relationships, and miscommunication. Affairs aren't new. Questionable parenting isn't new. Body image issues aren't new. Sexual frustration isn't new. Depression isn't new. The movie shows technology not as a cause or effect of any of these things, but as being intertwined with them the exact way technology is intertwined with modern life. People are looking to MWC as a comment on technology in modern life, and finding it wishy- washy. But that's because it's not taking any sides, it's just showing how things are.

If you go in to this movie expecting an interesting story, rather than an editorial about technology, you'll probably enjoy it. Just don't bring your kids or your parents.