'While We're Young' Movie Review, Trailer Movies for Grownups
' While We' re Young' Tackles Age-Old Rivalries
Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts get hooked by the lure of youth
Rating: R Run Time: 1 hour 37 minutes Stars: Adam Driver, Charles Grodin, Amanda Seyfried, Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts Director: Noah Baumbach A splendid cautionary comedy, While We're Young — the story of a middle-aged married pair hopelessly in the thrall of a much-younger couple — hums along with a dash of intrigue and betrayal on its way to a thoughtfully happy ending. Jon Pack/Courtesy A24 Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts in “While We’re Young” fall under the spell of a much-younger couple, who may have ulterior motives. is Josh, a documentary filmmaker whose last film was completed so long ago it's available only on VHS. His current project, meanwhile, has been incubating for the better part of a decade. He also teaches a class in documentary filmmaking, into which drops a 20-something student named Jamie (). Against all odds, the lad appears to be a genuine fan of Josh's work. On his arm is his equally gushing girlfriend, Darby (). Josh, his damaged ego inflated to the point where he ignores even flashing-red warning signs, welcomes this pair into his life — and into the apartment he shares with his wife, Cornelia (). She, too, falls under the spell of this fancy-free pair, who remind her and Josh of their long-ago Golden Age, which now seems as elusive as a parking space in Manhattan. Enraptured by the kids' youthful and somewhat eclectic exuberance (while Josh and Cornelia struggle to master , the youngsters play board games and listen to vinyl records), Josh and Cornelia shuck their old friends. Throwing caution (and the aches of arthritis) to the wind, they accompany Jamie and Darby to hip-hop dance classes, harrowing bike rides through New York City traffic and a weekend at a shaman's house replete with hallucinogens. But might the youngsters have ulterior motives? Why does Jamie, a fledgling documentary maker himself, seem so keen on meeting Cornelia's father, who happens to be a legendary documentarian? Here While We're Young starts to take a darker turn, but writer-director (whose and both won ) never lets things spiral entirely out of control. Stiller brings his trademark exasperation to the table, playing nicely against Driver's too-cool-for-the-room hipster. They could not appear more different, but in time we begin to suspect that were the two men to switch places (and respective life stages), they would be very much the same. It all comes to a head at a lifetime-achievement ceremony for Cornelia's father (wonderfully played by , who looks smashing in a tuxedo). To its final frames, When We're Young bristles with plot surprises and delightfully dark insights into that delicate tipping point at which generations can either nurture each other or fall into a bloody feeding frenzy. is a writer, editor and movie critic for AARP Media. Featured AARP Member Benefits See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures
Close In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails related to AARP volunteering. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly receive communications related to AARP volunteering. In the meantime, please feel free to search for ways to make a difference in your community at Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again.