This is one of those movies that are fun to watch, but at the same time give you something to think about. It works on different levels and, although it's far from perfect, I liked this movie and enjoyed watching it.
On the surface, this is a comedy about a generation gap. A childless couple in their forties, leading a routine life without much excitement, meet another couple in their twenties, leading the life of cool hipsters. The forty-somethings get a shot of energy and try to get hip themselves. The funny thing is that the hipsters play vinyl records instead of CD's, don't want the information overload from smart- phones and Facebook, and even use a typewriter instead of a PC.
As the film progresses, a second theme develops. The cool hipsters, who at first seemed to be in many ways superior to the dull forty-somethings, in reality turn out to be fraudulent fakes without any moral values. So the film is really about a dilemma: is it better to stay true to your own values, even if they are a disadvantage, than to change your moral compass whenever doing so is useful? In answering this dilemma, the film is not as straightforward as you may think - and that's what I liked about it.
This sounds rather heavy-handed, but the film really is very light-hearted and funny. Not everything about is is perfect, though. Some of the scenes are a bit overdone. And what really annoyed me was the way a third theme (yes!) was dealt with. The forty-somethings don't have children, although they wanted to, and seem to have embraced the idea that a meaningful life without kids is perfectly possible. There's even one scene in which the father of a newborn baby admits that the child is a bit of a letdown. But at the very end, the couple makes a spectacular U-turn by adopting a baby, thus suggesting that children are the ultimate key to happiness after all.
Disclaimer: at 51, I am neither a twenty-something nor a forty- something. I own an iPhone but don't have a Facebook-account. I have no children and cherish my own moral values.
On the surface, this is a comedy about a generation gap. A childless couple in their forties, leading a routine life without much excitement, meet another couple in their twenties, leading the life of cool hipsters. The forty-somethings get a shot of energy and try to get hip themselves. The funny thing is that the hipsters play vinyl records instead of CD's, don't want the information overload from smart- phones and Facebook, and even use a typewriter instead of a PC.
As the film progresses, a second theme develops. The cool hipsters, who at first seemed to be in many ways superior to the dull forty-somethings, in reality turn out to be fraudulent fakes without any moral values. So the film is really about a dilemma: is it better to stay true to your own values, even if they are a disadvantage, than to change your moral compass whenever doing so is useful? In answering this dilemma, the film is not as straightforward as you may think - and that's what I liked about it.
This sounds rather heavy-handed, but the film really is very light-hearted and funny. Not everything about is is perfect, though. Some of the scenes are a bit overdone. And what really annoyed me was the way a third theme (yes!) was dealt with. The forty-somethings don't have children, although they wanted to, and seem to have embraced the idea that a meaningful life without kids is perfectly possible. There's even one scene in which the father of a newborn baby admits that the child is a bit of a letdown. But at the very end, the couple makes a spectacular U-turn by adopting a baby, thus suggesting that children are the ultimate key to happiness after all.
Disclaimer: at 51, I am neither a twenty-something nor a forty- something. I own an iPhone but don't have a Facebook-account. I have no children and cherish my own moral values.