From the man who brought us JUNO, UP IN THE AIR and one of my favorite movies from last year LABOR DAY – Jason Reitman – comes a film that shows us how the internet has effected each of our lives, and not always in a Positive way, with his new film – MEN, WOMEN and CHILDREN.
As we meet Don Truby (Adam Sandler) and Helen Truby ( Rosemarie Dewitt), they are both going through their daily lives – wishing and hoping to come up with a way to rekindle their passion, like it was before kids, and a mortgage, and the everyday ups and downs of life. Don has decided to spice up his own life by visiting the internet for some “afternoon delight”. Little does he know that his wife too, has happened upon a website where you can meet other people seeking to get back that passion they want in their lives…….plus, in Don’s search to find “his perfect girl” on the internet…..he happens upon apparently some porn sites that his 15 year old son Chris (Travis Tope) has been searching out too…..well boys will be boys…..right?
Across town we meet Brandy Beltmeyer (Kaitlyn Dever), a young teenage girl whose mother Patricia (Jennifer Garner), is stalking her every move on her phone and the internet in an attempt to keep her safe from all the predators out there and to make sure that her daughter is definitely not doing anything that might be considered inappropriate…well by her standards anyway….
We also meet Kent Mooney (Dean Norris) and his son Tim (Ansel Elgort – of The Fault in our Stars fame) who are trying to figure how to move on with their lives after their wife & Mother decides to leave them both to head off to California with her lover. Tim is longing to hear from his mom, when he receives a post on Facebook celebrating the fantastic news that she isn’t coming home anytime soon, because now she is engaged to the douch bag who took her away in the first place…..NICE!
As all of these story lines – and a few more dealing with anorexia, unhealthy porn infatuation, and practically prostituting your child in hopes to making her a “Reality Star” unfold – they seem to entwine these families into each other’s lives, as you begin to wonder……is everyone’s life in this movie just a screwed up mess…..or has the fact that the internet seems to play a key role in their productive or non-productive lives, seem to have made everyone lose their minds?
I give MEN, WOMEN & CHILDREN a B-: I normally enjoy Jason Reitman’s work, and knowing that Emma Thompson would be narrating made me want to see this film too. I was even excited about seeing young Katherine Hughes, a previous competitor on Disney’s NBT competition on screen, as I was privileged to meet and her mother while working for Radio Disney her in St. Louis, and she is about as adorable and talented as it gets. But, sadly, when it was all said and done, MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN just became a mixed up mess of stories consisting of sad and extremely depressed individuals whose depression and deep rooted issues went way beyond the affect the internet may have been having on their lives. Although, to be fair, I did agree with the films stance on how significantly being on the internet does affect many lives, at any age, every day, as I personally know how it can ultimately play a role in destroying lives, having done a story here locally on Megan Meyer, who tragically killed herself due to bullying via the internet, so please so not perceive my dislike of this movie in any way, shape or form dismisses the fact that the internet can definitely affect many individuals lives in a very psychological way, I just think that this film didn’t go deep enough in to the subject matter, as it just touched the surface of this issue. Maybe Reitman skimmed so many different story lines in an attempt to increase the entertainment value of this film, but even the actors that I adore, including Sandler, didn’t make this film something I would send anyone to see…….
Kathy Kaiser
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 