WHILE WE'RE YOUNG (2017) Movie Review

The story of While We're Young follows forty-four-year-old Josh Snebnick, a one-hit wonder documentarian, who struggle to embrace his advanced stage in life.

His life is one of comfort and accomplishment. He is highly educated, happily married, and works as a professor. Certainly successful enough to afford a New York apartment. He should be happy and content. His first documentary is successful, spontaneous and inspirational.

However, he cannot seem to drive himself forward. He struggles to finish a ten-year project that is clearly a futile and outdated effort. Meanwhile, the world moves forward. With technology advancing, documentaries become simple to make for anyone with a keen eye and a camcorder. Why then can he not move forward, explore other projects, and focus on building his little family? Why can't he let go? What happens to his creativity?

It is not until Jamie, aspiring documentarian and young hipster, enter his life is he forced to face his hard reality. Unlike Josh, Jamie is ruthless, ambitious, and decisive. He knows what he wants and makes it happen. He doesn't waste time. Jamie always lives in the moment.

The differences between Josh and Jamie are neither good nor bad. They are simply two different people who share a passion for the same industry. Jamie feels no need to compete with Josh. However, Josh's insecurities about his failed ten-year project make him extremely competitive. Here in lies Josh's biggest flaw and the reason he cannot move forward.

Somewhere along the way, Josh loses his passion for the work. He doesn't desire fame. He has no story to tell. His documentary is too long and too boring. Despite his claims to the contrary, he does not care about the truth. The only truth he ought to explore is the truth behind his own divine purpose. Yet, he avoids it. He refuses to take criticism from anyone around him, not even his long-time best friends.

Matthew 7:4-5 says, "How can you think of saying to your friend,‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye." (NLT)

In fact, Josh and Cornelia isolate themselves from their friends after they have a baby. The couple tries to reason that the baby stole their friends' attention, but the truth is that the idea of growing up is too uncomfortable to face. Their friends' baby represents the acceptance of adulthood. Josh's biggest mistake is replacing Fletcher with Jamie, because Fletcher is the most reality-driven person in his life. Fletcher is both brutally honest and insightful. His advise is a tough but necessary pill to swallow. Josh needs that. When all else is lost, Fletcher and Marina are the ones on whom Josh can rely for support, because they are real friends. Meanwhile, Jamie turns out to be a user.

Instead, he desires approval. Not from friends, not his wife, and not even his audience. Above all, he craves approval from Leslie Breitbart, renowned documentarian, a former mentor, and father-in-law. His every decision from his project to who he marries to his work with Jamie is motivated by the pursuit of Leslie's approval.

However, Leslie is not impressed. When Leslie give Josh his honest feedback about his project, Josh refuses to accept it. He lashes out at his father-in-law like a child. Because that is what he is, a forty-four-year-old child. Josh's jealous behavior escalates when Leslie gives approval to Jamie's project, which was thrown together in a couple of weeks and constructed under false pretenses.

He throws a public fit and humiliates his entire family trying to "expose" Jamie as a fraud. It doesn't work, because everyone but Jamie understands the necessity for entertainment value in a documentary film. Films, even documentaries, need to be short and engaging with an honest spirit. That is everything that Jamie's film is not.

While Jamie sits his coveted seat of honor next to Leslie the legend, he sits on a street corner evaluating his life next to his wife, the only person who ought to matter. Together they decide how to move forward. He accepts that it's time to stop seeking Leslie's approval. He lets go of his boring project and seek his own happiness. Only then does he finally feel fulfilled.