Ever wonder what’s going on with Adam Sandler? Yeah, me neither. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of him from his prime, but the poor guy has become pretty irrelevant over the last few years. But hey, that’s the natural progression of the entertainment culture we all love so much, right?
Anyway, before I become too cynical, the trailer for his new film titled “Men, Women & Children” was recently released, also starring Jennifer Garner, Ansel Elgort and Judy Greer amongst several other talented actors of recent times. First of all, it’s hard to get a good idea of what this movie is really about just from the title. I have to say, it’s so bland and vague, it almost turned me off from watching the trailer entirely. But I’m rather glad I stuck with my original plan of sitting in my computer chair and clicking through trailers for hours on end.
We are instantly exposed to the unique but eerily familiar world of “Men, Women & Children” when the first shot opens on a cafeteria full of adolescents with their iPhones and other electronics in hand. As they navigate the halls of the school, the content of every text, email and profile being viewed by these individuals is displayed on-screen as a graphic above their heads, almost like a thought bubble…but less thoughtful. Transitioning to an older couple, we see Sandler and his wife in bed, each holding what look like iPads or some form of electronic tablets, not making much of any contact whatsoever. With no dialogue or 
communication to be had, except for the text displayed on screen, the trailer almost plays out like a two-and-a-half minute montage over chillingly effective music. Each character is introduced utilizing some form of technology as a means of communication, as opposed to face-to-face communication. And therein lies the purpose (which is driven home pretty hard from the first five seconds of the trailer). If you can’t already see where I’m going with this, it’s essentially about the effects that technology has on our lives. That’s what I gathered, although it did leave me wanting to know more. Job well done for that. It also seemed creatively effective to have no dialogue spoken throughout the trailer, perhaps to enforce the overall idea that the film is about a lack of communication between people today.
It didn’t seem to give away too much, and although I hope it doesn’t turn out to be a film that preaches the “dangers of technology,” it does come from Jason Reitman who directed “Up In the Air” and “Juno,” which are two wonderful films in my opinion. All in all, this trailer felt inventive and got me wondering what it was all adding up to. The jury is still out on Sandler in this seemingly deep, dramatic role, but I’ll definitely be catching this one in theatres! How about you?
