I think there's something interesting to this observation. I think De Niro's character operates to serve a few purposes. His role, to dumb it down as much as possible, is to create laughs for people in his age group who can sympathize with the world passing them by (jokes about Facebook, et. al, ensue). There are also "counter attacks," which come in the form of advice, like, "Why don't you just talk to her?" The reason this is funny is because of its obviousness-- the "kids" have their heads so far up tech's a**hole they can't see the forest for the trees.
But I believe the movie also serves to connect the younger generation to the old-- and this is where I think this film becomes both a better movie than most in its genre, and also sputters a little too. It's also where this post's original metaphor stings the most.
Anne Hathaway's character does a good job of realizing that 'hey, old people can be helpful and valuable too.' While she navigated this well and the writing does its best to avoid big pot holes, there are still a few scenes where I thought De Niro's character was walked on a little too much (while forced to keep a smile on his face).
It makes you wonder how this movie would screen in Japan, where there exists a much stronger respect for elders. I think that that audience would be much quicker to identify with the OP's sentiment- and rightfully so. But, as a movie made for America, in these times, I think it did a pretty good job of presenting things (even if some of those dynamics are truly sad, or appear completely unfair).
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