TIFF 2014: DIRECTOR JASON REITMAN EXAMINS RELATIONSHIPS IN THE TECH AGE WITH A STELLAR CAST IN “MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN” MOVIE
Canadian director Jason Reitman explores the how the web has affected our relationships with a big cast including Adam Sandler and Jennifer Garner in Men, Women and Children.
Award-winning director Jason Reitman is back with his new movie, Men, Women and Children. Starring an all-star cast including Adam Sandler, Jennifer Garner, J.K. Simmons and Emma Thompson, the movie tells the story of adults and teens dealing with the ups and down of sex in today’s technology age.
Adam Sandler plays Don who, along with his wife Trudy (Rosemarie DeWitt), try to spice up their dwindling sex life by seeking out extramarital excitement online. On the other spectrum is the high school star athlete (Ansel Elgort) who quits sports when his character in an online game unexpectedly dies, and the equally popular cheerleader (Kaitlyn Dever) who becomes so obsessed with losing weight that she all but starves herself and seeks support from a pro-anorexia website. Bridging the gap between these two generations is a group of parents (Jennifer Garner, Judy Greer and Dean Norris) who struggle to use the online world in an attempt to connect with their offspring while simultaneously being terrified of the unknown world that the children are so obsessed with.
Best known for his beloved modern classics Juno and Up In The Air, Reitman returns to examine classic relationships with a new twist. “A loveless marriage. A girl who’s dealing with self-image issues. A girl who wants to be famous. A Romeo and Juliet. Parents living vicariously through their kids. These are classic relationships,” Reitman told The Wall Street Journal. “The question is, what kind of pressure has the Internet put upon them? And what are we gonna do in this moment? It’s the dilemma that’s been given to this generation and this generation alone. I don’t have a lot of answers. My sense of it is that whether you’re an adult or a teenager using the Internet now, we’re still all guinea pigs.”
The movie is Reitman’s first collaboration with Sandler and it was a long time coming. “[Sandler] and I had been looking for something to do together. It seemed like a no-brainer that he’d be perfect for this. But he certainly had his questions. It was a challenging film,” Reitman explained.
While Sandler will likely always be best known for his slapstick comedies, he has proven himself a versatile actor who is able to play both serious and comedic roles,” Reitman said. “There’s an openness to him, to his soul, to his face, to his humour. A lot of us root for him in any circumstance.”
Men, Women and Children stars Adam Sandler, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jennifer Garner, Judy Greer, J.K. Simmons, Ansel Elgort and Kaitlyn Dever and premieres at TIFF on September 6.
—Sarah Khan
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