"Drinking Buddies" Review

“Drinking Buddies,” a 2013 ‘Dramedy’ that was released to minimal fanfare, grossed a paltry $342,946 at the box office, an unfortunate result for a film that weaved an engaging character-driven story.  Written and directed by Joe Swanson, a filmmaker who is only a decade into his career and already boasts several dozen directing, producing, writing, and acting credits to his name, the film is revelatory in its honesty.  Featuring failing and burgeoning relationships between refreshingly dynamic and realistic characters, “Drinking Buddies” weaves a nuanced story of slow-burning character development.

The relationship between Kate (Olivia Wilde) and Luke (Jake Johnson) is the heart of the film.  Co-workers at a beer brewing company, Kate and Luke spend their lunches and evenings together drinking beers and having all-around riotous times.  Although their chemistry is obvious, Luke always returns to his fiance Jill (Anna Kendrick), and Kate drunkenly visits her boyfriend Chris (Ron Livingston) before riding her bike home for the night.  When the couples intermingle and eventually vacation for a weekend together, it becomes evident that Kate and Luke, as well as Jill and Chris, may be better suited for each other.

Johnson and Wilde anchor the film with performances that permeate likability, charisma, and authenticity.  Improvising dialogue from the script outline written by Swanson, the two stars created a diverse array of genuine moments.  A friendly relationship built primarily on the fun-loving nature shared by Kate and Luke, the film’s progression begets inevitable drama that threatens the foundation of their idealistic work relationship.  Each character’s less glamorous side is explored in necessary but slightly contrived scenes of discovery.  The largest criticism with the film was that the exploration of these traits was not completely believable within the context of the story.

Supporting performances by Kendrick and Livingston are brimming with untamed neuroticism that balances out the fun-at-all-costs chaos of the film’s stars.  Jason Sudeikis shines in a minor role as a micromanaging boss, and TI West works well as comedic relief.

The 90-minute film breezed by without many belly laughs, which is expected from a film like this one.  More importantly, there was lack of excessive melodrama that so frequently decimates the ambitions and potential of character driven stories.  Distinctly human in a ‘Richard Linklater’ kind of way, “Drinking Buddies” is definitely worth a viewing.

                                                                    3/4 Stars

"While We're Young" Review

“While We’re Young” is a film that explores universally relatable themes of aging, truth, and pride.  The story focuses on Josh (Ben Stiller) and Cornelia (Naomi Watts), a middle-aged married couple that desperately attempts to avoid the inevitable burdens that accompany the aging process.  Josh teaches by night and attempts to produce earnest documentaries that prioritze adherence to truth above all else. Fletcher (Adam Horovitz) and Darby (Amanda Seyfried), a young and vivacious hipster couple, sit in on one of Josh’s classes and Fletcher introduces himself as a fan of Josh’s first, more critically acclaimed, documentary.  When the two couples dine out together, Josh and Cornelia are enthralled by Fletcher and Darby’s carefree spontaneity, while Fletcher and Darby appreciate how their older and more well-off counterparts can foot the dinner bill.  The film explores the evolving aspects of the relationship and the professional careers of Josh and Fletcher.

No other film I’ve seen has captured the hipster ethos more accurately than “While We’re Young.”  Brooklyn, VHS tapes, vinyl records, fedoras, skinny jeans, and beach parties in the city streets characterized Fletcher and the effect Fletcher has on Josh. This hipster motif provided great opportunities for Stiller to flex his comedic muscles, which were unfortunately underwhelming.  The hip-hop dance classes Darby attends may or may not be hipster influenced (I’m no authority on hipster culture).  Regardless, Cornelia, who is the only one in her circle of ‘older’ friends to not have a child and is growing apart from the baby-crazy moms, attends a dance class with Darby rather than sitting through another enervating mommy-baby musical sing-alongs with her aforementioned circle of friends.

A unique soundtrack that includes orchestral string music in addition to classics “Hit Em Up” by Tupac and “Buggin Out” by A Tribe Called Quest helps compensate for a visually dull cinematic experience.  Aside from the hustle and bustle of a few city scenes, the film forgoes engaging aesthetics in favor of dialogue.  And while the dialogue offers insight by punctuating the film’s themes, many of the conversations seemed contrived to achieve that very purpose.   It was not believable for the characters, within the context of their situations, to carry out such philosophical ramblings. 

Peter Yarrow did a phenomenal job playing the role of Cornelia’s father and legendary documentarian that Josh both respected and resented.  The narrative contained commentary on society’s abuse of technology, a wrinkle I’m a sucker for.  But ultimately the film flamed out in the second half, which was fraught with unbelievable scenes and accentuated by a climax containing cheesy 80s synth music.  The sound mixing was distractingly wretched throughout the entire movie.  I wanted to like “While We’re Young.”  The relatable themes provided a foundation for what should have been a more interesting story, and although there were redeeming qualities, the cumulative flaws were unforgivable.

                                                                             2/4 Stars