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 Men, Women & Children 

What grade would you give this film?
A 14%  14%  [ 1 ]
B 43%  43%  [ 3 ]
C 29%  29%  [ 2 ]
D 14%  14%  [ 1 ]
F 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 7

 Men, Women & Children 
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Post Men, Women & Children
Men, Women & Children

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Men, Women & Children is a 2014 American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman co-written with Erin Cressida Wilson, based on a novel of the same name written by Chad Kultgen. Featuring an ensemble cast, with Rosemarie DeWitt, Jennifer Garner, Judy Greer, Dean Norris, Adam Sandler, Ansel Elgort, and Kaitlyn Dever, the film screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2014.


Thu Oct 16, 2014 6:31 pm
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Extraordinary
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Post Re: Men, Women & Children
Clunky but the ensemble is impressive. Dean Norris and Judy Greer especially are very good, and all the actors who play the teenagers are good. It's not Oscar worthy but I'm surprised by how terrible the reviews and box office are. I think there is a lot more good than bad here.

the funniest part was the girl who doesn't eat texts the guy who got her pregnant "that's two miles" and he says not too long a walk lol


Fri Oct 17, 2014 9:44 pm
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Post Re: Men, Women & Children
Men, Women & Children, the sixth feature by writer and director Jason Reitman, does not deserve the severe critical lambasting it has received. Set in a Texas suburb, the film depicts how various people's lives, loves, and day-to-day experiences are facilitated, shaped, or stunted by the Internet and the technology in their lives. Or, put another way, it is an Internet-age reflection on such enduring concerns and rites as coming-of-age, infidelity, and parental responsibility. Rosemarie DeWitt and Adam Sandler portray a bored couple both considering extramarital experimentation. Judy Greer is a mother who tried and failed to become a star in California and now condones and encourages her teenage daughter's oversexed exhibitionism and voracious desire for fame. Jennifer Garner co-stars as another mother, one almost driven mad by her fixation with monitoring and policing her put-upon daughter's computer and phone. Other stories touch on pornography, high-school peer pressure manifested online, and the way people, enabled by their digital devices, can be alone together.

Now and then, I admit, Reitman reaches an inch too far or lapses into modestly ponderous pretense. For example, the slice-of-life Texas stories are blended with shots of the Voyager 1 spacecraft floating in interstellar space in a too-cute bid to contrast relatively microscopic human experiences with the ambivalent grandeur of the cosmos, and the sheer volume of tech-centric conversations and crises threatens to resemble a wag of the self-righteous finger a few times. Yet there is so much of enormous quality here, from moments of genuine insight (and painful recognition) to a veritable catalog of strong performances, including by the very natural teenage actors. The various poignant subplots, a few laced with relaxed humor, drew me in. This is perhaps the highest compliment I can pay this unduly maligned picture: it is involving and satisfying.

B+

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Sat Oct 18, 2014 2:09 am
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Post Re: Men, Women & Children
This was actually really good and with a few tweaks here and there it would have been one of my favorites of the year. I agree with Gun's sentiments that I didn't like the satellite stuff at all. Also while their performances were actually really good the Adam Sandler/Rosemarie DeWitt storyline was easily the weakest and least interesting to me. Everything else is pretty aces. The teenage stories are actually probably the best and I thought all the young actors were GREAT. Jennifer Garner, Judy Greer and especially Dean Norris also give very strong performances. I think this is a hair better than last year's Disconnect and it definitely doesn't deserve the critical drubbing it received. It's also very nicely directed, observant and melancholy. It's definitely worth checking out and I wouldn't mind seeing it again. B+


Mon Oct 20, 2014 12:25 am
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Post Re: Men, Women & Children
While it wasn't a great movie, it definitely isn't deserving of the horrible reviews and box office it received. The acting was pretty great from everyone, with the stand out being Rosemarie Dewitt. The only person I didn't find to be very good was Judy Greer, though her story line did her no favors, as I thought it was the worst of the bunch and didn't really need to be in film film. The movie plays with a lot of interesting things and it is incredibly entertaining. It's not fully realized and it can be a bit pretentious at times and think it's more important than it actually is but it's still worth a watch and really good. I do agree with the satellite thing you guys have mentioned, though I did enjoy Emma Thompson's narration.

B+

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Fri Dec 19, 2014 4:28 pm
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Post Re: Men, Women & Children
I really enjoyed this, despite wanting to cause physical harm to Jennifer Garner's character. The interconnecting stories felt effortless and interesting.

The bad reviews are indeed baffling. I think it got a lot of hate for seemingly being a "hard look at modern communication," but I didn't view the movie as trying to be that.

A-


Mon Dec 29, 2014 2:46 pm
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Post Re: Men, Women & Children
C

Ummm, so apparently KJ really really liked it. Well, I am with the critical consensus on this one. I had high hopes for it, really hoping for Jason Reitman to rebound after his tedious Labor Day, but no. This actually makes Young Adult (which was the first sign of Reitman's "downfall") look pretty damn good in retrospect. I mean had he focused on one or two stories, maybe it would have been good. But now almost every single plotline feels incomplete and superficial. I enjoyed Dean Norris and Judy Greer most here and I felt a connection between the two, but despite a lot of interesting points throughout the film, it all ends so damn unsatisfying. Also, who the hell thought that having Voyager 1 and Emma Thompson's voiceover would be a great framing device?! Too bad, with some trimming and better focus, this could have been a very good film.

Also, Jennifer Garner plays the year's least likable character here. If we were supposed to feel any sympathy for her whatsoever or have any understanding for her, then the film failed monumentally in achieving that.

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Mon Dec 29, 2014 7:53 pm
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Post Re: Men, Women & Children
With Men, Women and Children, Jason Reitman thinks he's saying something new and important, but honestly all the plotlines and themes have been dealt with before and better. The film feels slight, and nothing more than a forgettable time waster. The characters are not particularly developed, the plot strands are predictable, and the film never builds up to anything profound (though it thinks it does). The cast is largely wasted on Reitman's half-assed attempt to create something 'hip' and timely. It just doesn't work.
C-/D+

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Tue Dec 30, 2014 5:57 am
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Post Re: Men, Women & Children
Finally some reason in this thread.

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Tue Dec 30, 2014 7:39 pm
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Post Re: Men, Women & Children
There is a good film hidden in there somewhere but it's overridden by taking the extreme in nearly every story it tells. I can't believe Jennifer Garner's character was an actual thing during the movie, so badly written.

I think one of the only highlights of the film was Kaitlyn Dever's performance. With this and Short Term 12 (she is still better in the latter), I think she is becoming one of the best younger actresses out there and hopefully she is given solid scripts to work with over the next few years. Dean Norris is the best out of the adult cast.


Wed Jan 14, 2015 3:53 pm
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Post Re: Men, Women & Children
I glanced over the Rotten Tomatoes critics blurbs after watching this, and most of them so clearly state what I want to say, that I'm just going to copy and paste a few of them.

Rotten Rene Rodriguez - "The problem with Men, Women & Children - and it's a big one - is that the movie isn't telling us anything we don't already know."

Rotten Mark Kermode - "Top marks go to the young leads Ansel Elgort and Kaitlyn Dever, who manage to create their own believable world within the mawkish miasma of this flawed movie."

Rotten Anthony Morris - "It's a comedy without the laughs, a satire that takes two hours to make a two minute point; if you're reading this online, it's already too late."

Rotten Ken Hanke - "I'm reduced to calling it a nice try, pointing out that Adam Sandler isn't emarbarrassing, and that while both Dennis Haysbert and J.K. Simmons are in it, neither one tries to sell us insurance."

Rotten Michael Nordine - "It's almost as if (and I know this might sound crazy) the tools meant to connect us actually do the opposite. Whoa."

Rotten Laura Clifford - "I didn't like this movie when it was called "Disconnect"..." (Jmart here... especially with both having almost the same ending.)

Rotten Joshua Rothkopf - "The first Reitman film (Jmart again...haven't seen Labor Day yet) to make the 36-year-old director seem about 400 years old."

It stinks!

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Thu Jan 15, 2015 12:33 am
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Post Re: Men, Women & Children
I really liked it.

B/B+


Fri Jan 16, 2015 2:09 am
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