Floated2 Men, Women & Children is an ensemble film by director Jason Reitman. Although Adam Sandler gets top billing, this is not an "Adam Sandler" film. It's very much an ensemble and he is simply playing a character messed in with other characters. Sandler's character is an online addict who discovers scrambling through his teenage son's computer. Meanwhile, his wife (Rosemarie DeWitt) seeks extramarital spice online. Then there's a high school football star Tim (Ansel Elgort) who quits the game to focus on an online virtual game- Guild Wars, to the consternation of his dad (Dean Norris). The latter starts dating a photographer (Judy Greer) who fosters her teen daughter's Hollywood aspirations by posting sensitive photos of her online. Representing the opposite extreme, Jennifer Garner plays a mother who monitors her level-headed daughter's mobile devices.As a whole this film at first feels similar to a documentary then somewhat shifts and feels more like a television soap opera or dramatic mini-series split into several episodes. The running time of the film is almost 2 hours long, which is given since there are a lot of characters, and it's needed in giving them their proper screen time to develop any sense of plot. What doesn't work for this film, is the overall mood and tone of the film. It feels mostly very quiet, bland and depressing. The characters aren't too interesting or anything new (standard teen seeking relationships, parents not trusting teens, etc.) The film is more so of a journey and just feels by the end of the film, as if was it worth it. One can see why this film was a box office flop, as I barely recall it being distributed or promoted.

Jilena Cori I was riveted by this movie that was able make the "everyday" profoundly dramatic. No small feat when a movie continually employs texts, online messages and characters staring at their devices. Normally this "dead time" would challenge the pacing and action but the subtext is so subtly built upon with tremendous acting that this movie achieves my expectations of a great drama. Not just tears... er, the roller-coaster of the character's journey but a mirror of the challenges many of us can relate to. In this case, it's life and love in this new digital age. The topic was explored with an unscathing hand so we felt the deep affects of everyday digital minutiae without even needing to explore the more extreme consequences of online interaction like cyber bullying, etc. It felt implied to me. Our worlds and our hearts are built on communication and the platform of that communication, shapes it.

Screen_Blitz The Internet is a very resourceful place whether it is for research, communication, entertainment, or anything else. The Internet has made an undeniable impact on everyone across the globe since it first hit the cyber world in the early 1990s. It can also be a dangerous place, and that has lead to serious and at plenty of times, tragic consequences -- take cyber bullying for an example and how the petty acts have flooded on social media, leading to infamous cases of suicides of individuals. This film directed by Jason Reitman attempts to showcase an important message about how the Internet and media-based communications can have damaging effects on individuals and their relationships with others. The film follows an ensemble cast of characters in five interconnecting story lines of high school teenagers and the fate of their relationships with their family and peers from the use of the Internet: one following Don Truby (played by Adam Sandler) and the fate of his marriage with his wife Helen (played by Rosemarie DeWitt) from his porn addiction his son Chris (played by Travis Hope) soon inherits, one centering on a single mother Donna (played by Judy Greer) attempting on getting her daughter Hannah (played by Olivia Croccichia) via posting modeling pictures of her online, one revolving around paranoid mother Patricia (played by Jennifer Garner) with her compulsive monitoring on her daughter Brandy's (played by Kaitlyn Dever) social media and text messages, one following single father Kent (played by Dean Norris) struggling to connect with his son Tim (played by Ansel Elgort) who plants himself in online gaming after quitting the football team, then one about a cheerleader Allison (played by Elena Kampouris) seeking online advice on her anorexia.With the fateful events that take place from beginning to end, the film is brutally honest on conveying the consequences of being careless on the Internet. There are many situations the characters experience plenty of viewers can relate to. Themes of infidelity, porn addiction, fame hunting, video game addiction, and doubt in self-image play major roles in the plot as the viewers are pulled deep into the lives of each character when they are face the dilemmas of Internet that damages the relationships with their loved ones. Unfortunately, the film leaves one crucial element to fully develop its message untouched: a solution. As you watch these characters make unwise decisions to have negatively affect their lives, and they never reach a sense of redemption. The film ends on such a dry note and fails to leave any crucial impact, although there is some parting thoughts to be offered. The story line centering on Judy Greer attempting to get her daughter in the modeling business is a bit weak and provides very little offer (probably would have been better as a feature length film), while the rest offer some form of intelligence. The narration by Emma Thompson is not only unnecessary but gets a tad bit distracting and at times, even laughable. Her metaphorical explanation on the satellite and it's relation with phone communications serves almost no purpose to the plot other than explaining something many people know already. On the bright side, the cast does turn in some fine performances, nothing particularly in the Oscar caliber. Adam Sandler gets a chance to venture outside his goofy personality typecast and showcase a strong dramatic performance. It's doesn't mark his first time though, as he's done some dramatic work in the past including 'Punch Drunk Love' and 'Funny People'. The young teen actors use their good time to shine as well.Men, Women, and Children may formulate an important message on he effects of the Internet and mobile communication but it fails to fully justify what it's trying to tell us and falls short of its ambition. The performances are satisfying but they can't save the film from Jason Reitman's uncertain direction and the efforts that never quite pay off.

juanmuscle Will definitely look for it, I just popped this in from my vast selection of stuff, didn't even look at the title, saw Adam Sandler and I really love Sandler in less than his average flix so I was like what the hell. Boy what an awesome surprise. Adam knocks it out but really there was such a really nice healthy size cast and a really healthy thick plot and a super healthy nice thick big... long Theme! Infinitely long, us, we are the center of the universe, or our universe and it doesn't even matter, well not really, if we are standing a billion light years away in a galaxy far very far away, but unfortunately we are here, we come with our junk in our trunk and as we get into in our lil' blue spec of life we begin to fill it, everyone and everything else lends a hand to our trunk and pretty soon we have to make a pit stop and have a garage sale if we are lucky, maybe someone will pick up our junk and it will be their gold, who knows it might be aliens a million years from now, hopefully someone picks up my junk before the infinite vast universe goes "Crunch" , I so, oh so loved this flix - I'm sure the book must be a billion times ahead of its time... One thing I have to say, I researched this novelist's wiki page and it seems he has been deemed the go to guy in effigy to burn at the stake. Well, I am here to say, I hope a big meteor lands on the next person or persons and burn them up first for they do nothing and will do nothing for this world unlike the artist they are trying to dump on. Get a life and learn that the world does not revolve solely on the things you like or deem appropriate! Long live Chad , I love you and hope you have a very successful career! :)