The Last Days of Civilization Or Something Like That

The movie "Men, Women, and Children" is bothersome.   It makes you think about the human condition.   Don't get me wrong.  A good film should do that.   In reality, there should be a good movie here.  There isn't.   And the overriding emotion you have as you leave the theater is sheer disappointment.

Jason Reitman is the writer and director and that's a name that I've come to trust over the last few years.  He made two really special films that were almost Billy Wilder-like.  "Juno" and "Up in the Air."  He expertly mixed comedy with thought-provoking themes that resulted in superlative entertainment at the movies.  With his latest, Reitman has completely lost his way.  Indeed, he forgot the humor part of the recipe.  And the end result is a thoroughly dour and depressing look at life in America.

That said life is all wrapped up in technology.  Reitman spotlights some Midwestern town that is regrettably wired.   Everyone is connected to some form of social media and they rarely look up from it.  Gee, how surprising is this?  With some light moments intertwined, Reitman could have done wonders with the subject matter.  Instead, he hits us over the head repeatedly with his sermon.   Yes, yes, we know.  We all spend too much time on our computers, tablets, and phones.

"Men, Women, and Children" is one of those disjointed movies that focuses on about twenty different characters who you know will somehow be connected by the end of the movie.  Gee, how many times has that device been pummeled into the ground of late? 

Adam Sandler (yes, gang, I saw an Adam Sandler) and Rosemary Dewitt are a suburban couple bored with each other.   They seek out new sexual partners on Ashley Madison.com, which is apparently the Amazon.com if you want sex delivered to your door.  Jennifer Garner is a parent suspicious of her daughter's on-line activities and she actually conducts surveillance on her kid.
Judy Greer (who is always welcome on my screen) is a single parent using the Internet to further her daughter's career aspiration of being the next reality TV breakout star.  Meanwhile, there are about a dozen other sad characters who are either texting, sexting, or watching and/or producing porn on their computers. 

In this film, all the high school kids focus on nothing but sex and I wonder what the hell I was missing during my own wonder years.  One girl uses her smart phone to find a high school jock that will take her virginity.  Other teenagers are lonely and misunderstood.  All of them retreat to their social media for a fix to their problems.  It's all way too grim for a Saturday diversion at the movies. 

That's the big issue with this film.   We get the point.  It is hammered home repeatedly.   With the sternest looks and reactions.  Had Reitman trusted his own past screen history, a little humor would have made the story and its characters much more likeable.   What we have now is about twenty characters we can easily detest in a story that is incredibly predictable.

As the warnings against social media and technology continues, you can soon see where everybody is headed.  You can easily predict which characters will be broken forever and which ones will try to commit suicide.  As uncommonly good as Jason Reitman was in the past, he is incredibly pedestrian here.   And that's what makes this two-hour mess so deflating. 

I sincerely hope that this talent goes back to the comedy/drama genre he was succeeding in just a year or two ago.  Movie audiences want to entertained, not preached at. 

Of course, I'm telling you this in a blog that you're reading on a phone or a computer or a tablet, which is Reitman's point.   In "Men, Women, and Children," he did shoot at the right target.

He just missed.  Big time.

LEN'S RATING:  One and a half stars.

Dinner last night:  Chicken cutlets, peas, and salad.