Men, Women & Children

Jason Reitman's Men, Women and Children takes aim at communication in the digital age, offering a sobering and uncomfortably accurate portrait of the way we connect - or rather, fail to connect - with each other when there's a wealth of technology at our fingertips. Take Don (Adam Sandler) for example: a quiet schlub whose sexless marriage to Helen (Rosemarie DeWitt) finds him sneaking into his son's room to feed his internet porn addiction, while his wife struggles with the temptation of using a cheating website to start an extramarital affair. This is the kind of issue that an open dialogue and honest communication could likely overcome - but that would require both of them to put down their iPads or look away from the television.

There's also Hannah (Olivia Crocicchia), a fame-obsessed cheerleader who force-feeds her sexuality to everyone around her in hopes of blazing a path to stardom, Kardashian style. It doesn't help that she's enabled by her mom, Donna (Judy Greer), a failed actress who constantly snaps photos of her daughter for a "modeling" website that happens to include a private section reserved for paying members. Hannah has a thing for Chris (Travis Tope), Don's football player son whose own internet porn habits would not only put his dad's to shame, but have also left him unable to become aroused by anything but the images on his monitor.

Most tragic and heartbreaking of all is Allison (Elena Kampouris), so desperate to catch the eye of her crush that she developed an eating disorder after overhearing him make a disparaging comment about her weight. Now pale and waifish, she maintains her figure by seeking "support" from an online forum dedicated to staying thin at any cost, offering such helpful hunger-battling hints as "drink water and wait five minutes." Their slogan? "Pretty bitches never eat."

At the opposite end of the spectrum is Patricia (Jennifer Garner), a suburban parent who redefines the term "overprotecrive" as she demands that daughter Brandy (Kaitlyn Dever) surrender her cell phone on a regular basis so that she can read her emails and text messages, in addition to poring over pages of chat logs and using a GPS locator app to monitor her daughter's movements whenever she leaves the house. Patricia is convinced that she's keeping Brandy safely out of harm's way, yet remains oblivious to the fact that she's stifling any chance of her having a normal teenage existence.

And then there's Tim (Ansel Elgort), a star running back who elected to quit the football team in favor of investing his time in online role-playing games. Tim's interpretation of Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot (a recurring theme throughout the film) is that nothing matters in the grand scheme of things, so why bother investing in a "pointless" activity like football? He's much more content to form connections with other like-minded individuals in a virtual world, while growing increasingly distant from his father (Dean Norris), who continues to cope with the sudden departure of Tim's mother the previous year.

If that sounds like a lot to keep track of, you're correct. As the film progresses, each character is faced with their own individual conflicts, while simultaneously crossing paths with other characters and creating new conflicts along the way. It's not only gut- wrenching to see how commonplace cruelty has become in today's digital world, but terrifying to see how broadly we can all be affected by it. Seemingly innocuous decisions turn out to have major, far-reaching consequences, with actions affecting other characters in surprising ways. It's unapologetically reminiscent of Crash, which admittedly pulled off the same trick in a much more organic fashion that was far more believable.

But that's not to say that Men, Women and Children doesn't feel authentic. Having been acquainted with people that have struggled with eating disorders, depression, or poor self esteem, every performance in the film is pitch perfect, and it's almost frightening how expertly Reitman nails some of these issues. If you're looking for a film that will send you home with a smile on your face, this one isn't it. But if you want a thoughtful, genuine depiction of the how far our communication skills and regard for our fellow humans have fallen, look no further.

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.

From my perspective, the point of the entire film was to show us how complex human behaviour and communication really is, especially after the internet. It shows briefly how our actions have consequences and it's a film for both parents and teenagers to watch and relate to, and maybe comprehend that we all struggle sometimes, making it important to ask for help. It screams at the audience that communication is key, therefore getting its message across, but it could have explored some plotlines a little bit more, making it a bit clearer.

The movie seems to be about everything that is wrong with the Internet.

It goes over how distant and desensitized the internet can make us. It points out a generation gap between adults and children as the title suggest. For the most part he's suggesting we have a problem, He maybe right, but Ironically the format of the film with displaying text and websites on the screen which is starting to become common in movies, only adjust us to the problem versus resolving it.

But the movie is not fully negative as it does point how being able to communicate easier with one another is helpful.

Overall I like the movie. It has a great ensemble cast with the likes of Adam Sandler proving he can do drama. The small stories blended together well, but I must admit the filmmaker was trying to show us a bigger picture which I did not get.

It was humorous and it's the type of film that makes you think. worth sitting through.

It's very easy to get carried away by Men, Women & Children. From Emma Thompson's sincere, opening narration of doom and foreboding we are led to believe we are in for an emotional ride that will open our eyes, drop our jaws and force us to reassess our obsession with mobile phones, technology and social media.

But step back to consider for a moment after the event and we see Jason Reitman has delivered just a very simple, clear message: Internet bad, parents worse. Men, Women & Children is an affecting and engaging film, but it doesn't really tell the truth and opts instead for shock and disgust over reason and discussion. Sometimes, though, we do need to hear the worst news in order to reevaluate.

Men, Women & Children is a dip into the world of a group of high school teenagers, their families, their relationships and their angst played out through texts, Facebook, Twitter and every other online forum that offers as much privacy as a damp tissue over the nether regions in a hurricane. Beyond, or perhaps central to, the teenagers' own problems are those of their parents and, no matter how bad it is for the kids, the adults are in a far deeper quagmire of their own making.

The principal subject matter of Men, Women & Children is the danger of social media but Reitman merely uses it as a spoon to stir a thick, coagulating mixture of isolation, self-obsession, anorexia, infidelity, lust, pornography, mental health, bereavement, divorce, anger, abandonment, oppression and a hint of rape. Ouch! So much subject matter in so little time? That just about sums it up.

Writer/director Reitman has tried to shoehorn so much into his two hours of screen time that there is little opportunity to reflect. Indeed, as the final credits faded, I found myself sitting, static, trying to absorb the impact and information with which I had been bludgeoned. Initially, I felt numbed by the subject matter although my overriding feeling was positive about the film itself. It is a worthy attempt to highlight a worrying trend in our society; I'm just not sure it was well executed.

Billed as a comedy drama, there is little to laugh at in Men, Women & Children. It is a film of extremes that shows the worst of our fears and depicts the darkest of our social media nightmares and you'll need to step back a bit and realize that the world isn't quite this bad (is it?). Reitman it makes plenty of valid points but he nails them firmly to your heart. I'd urge parents and those who live their lives through Facebook to see it, but regard it as a wake up call and not a factual reflection of your impending doom.

Men, Women & Children is a tiny bit sexy, a smidgen funny, often good, very unnerving and frequently thought provoking but it isn't necessarily entirely accurate and it certainly couldn't be accused of being understated.

Adam Sandler is more restrained than we have seen him for a good long while as Don, one half of a bored, unloved married couple. On the flip side, Jennifer Garner is so extreme, so, um, psychotic as the overbearing, paranoid, dictatorial Patricia that you hope Quentin Tarantino is going to appear as a guest director in the final third and wipe her out in a glorious hail of gunfire and swishing Samurai swords. Needless to say, that is not on the cards.

There is actually plenty to enjoy about Men, Women & Children in spite of the heavy-handed delivery. While the adults are busy screwing up their own live and the lives of their children, Brandy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Tim (Ansel Elgort) are quietly, imperfectly attempting to find their own paths through the emotional mayhem. After trying too hard and missing much of the time in The Fault in Our Stars, Elgort brings some much-needed calm and thoughtfulness to the table and the friendship between Tim and Brandy is the calmest but most powerful aspect of Men, Women & Children.

Men, Women & Children could have done with being filtered to make a greater impact but Reitman has shunned subtlety; why be suggestive when you can make your point with a sledgehammer? Be warned, be concerned, be aware, but don't live in fear of your teenagers and Reitman's prediction that their world is going to hell in a handcart.

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