Greenberg

Posted In: Greenberg

Clarinda Nebgen says...

Funnyman Ben Stiller takes a dramatic turn as a forty-something New Yorker who makes the decision to quit trying to be something and simply do nothing for the rest of his life in Greenberg. After a stint in a mental institution, Roger Greenberg heads to his brother's house in Los Angeles to housesit and falls--albeit in his own strange way--in love with his brother's assistant Florence (played by Greta Gerwig) and the possibility of a new beginning.



Somber, self-diagnosed OCD sufferer, and heavily dramatic about everything, Greenberg is a total killjoy. He's not happy and doesn't understand how anyone can be. That said, he tries to impart his self-inflicted depression onto everyone else, including his best friend from college (played by Rhys Ifans) who is also trying to make a new beginning for himself, and Florence who, despite Greenberg's valiant effort to push her away, is oddly intrigued by his "vulnerability."



Greenberg is self-indulgent, boring and very cynical (and not in a good way). The anticlimactic ending doesn't sum up the movie but rather leaves you further frustrated at Greenberg for being a miserable, unlikeable person for no apparent reason.

Posted on March 9, 2011

Mauricio Saulino says...

We gave it 1/2 hour before we couldn't stand it any more and pulled it. It was like watching paint dry. The opening is like an omen. You watch an average girl walk a dog, go to the laundry, drive for a rediculously long and boring time, etc.



We kept waiting for something to happen and to figure out what this was about, but it just never got any more interesting. Very, very dull.



We're big fans of Ben Stiller, but I can't recommend this movie. It's not worth your time or money.

Posted on March 10, 2011

Yee Fracier says...

I enjoy movies that push an envelope, and having been an institutionalized mental patient 40 years ago - as Ben Stiller portrays - I was eager to see how Baumbach would handle this after his the most excellent Squid and the Whale.

Ben Stiller is at his best, and certainly deserves kudos for his portrayal of this broken character. His weak ego structure cannot admit to any real fault, and this hovers around an annoying, narcisstic hypocrisy, in which he eagerly finds fault with everyone and everything around him.

"We never speak of anything good," his ex-friend tells him; and the perfect example is the friend saying

"This is probably boring to you, but you never made an effort to know Vic."

"Who's Vic!?" Stiller's character answers loudly and impatiently.

"My son," responds the old friend.

"Oh, I didn't recognize the diminutive," answers Stiller, continuing on offensively while ignoring the content of the statement.



The curious ending (you cant call it a climax) is his easily-made female love-interest stating "this is you" at the end as she prepares to hear the Voice-Mail he left her. In this, he admits to a certain vulnerability in his feelings towards her, and the previous scene with his friend Paul is where he bears what amounts to the beginning of a genuine responsibility toward his prior actions in that he states "don't you think I would have done things differently if I could? And the admission that he didn't think he had the power to alter such things in life is a common thread in the tortured experiences of those who suffer personality disintegration after youthful exertions rendered great consequences.



The ending leaves one with a picture of Stiller's character. "This is you" she tells him. It's a "you" that hardly paints an optimistic picture. He has turned a VERY small corner. That much can be seen. Is it enough? For a character like Stiller, the easy on-again off agin sex with this girl certainly is enough for him to say "I really like you; I'm sorry I did such and such." The real test never comes. The references to shrinks are so embarrassing in their lack of deep therapeutic understanding or self-awareness that they become less than useless, leaving the viewer with the uneasy notion that the creators of this movie are still lost in the beginnings of self-awareness themselves; and therefore akin to a virgin writing about sex.



As a reintegrated ex-institutionalized schizophrenic, let me say Mr. Stiller's character has an extremely long road in front of him, and without criticizing the film's intention, it is such a very small step he takes toward self-awareness at the end that it leaves one wondering what point the film is trying to make vis-

Posted on March 10, 2011

Theresia Paukert says...

Presents Ben Stiller as you've never seen him, in a semi-serious and extremely intense role as a needy, angry, and unstable man with a myriad of psychiatric problems.Very reminiscent of "Rain Man" in a some ways.



In this film, Stiller's character struggles to deal with past disappointments and continuing conflicts in glamorous, hedonistic Los Angeles.Sometimes painful, and sometimes funny, it is not to be missed by the discerning viewer.In fact, I really thought Stiller's performance approached Oscar level quality.

Posted on March 11, 2011

Winifred Spomer says...

This is a Noah Baumbach movie.People looking for a wacky, slapstick 'Night at the Museum' type kiddie movie should not go anywhere near this hard and piercing character film.Anyone who complains that this film "isn't funny enough" completely misses the point of both the film and the character.This is a film by adults, for adults.



Writer/Director Noah Baumbach's previous films are Kicking & Screaming - Criterion Collection, The Squid and the Whale (Special Edition) and Margot at the Wedding.The tone and harsh reality of those films should give you a good idea of what to expect here.The film has a number of uncomfortable scenes but they aren't played in a broad and obvious way as many other films might have done.Greenberg seems very, very real.The laughs earned by the film come from a very perceptive observation of a character who seems lost wherever he goes.



What Ben Stiller does with this role is a revelation -- he makes an audience sympathetic to a very unsympathetic character.If a character like Greenberg has even the slight possibility of finding love and happiness then there is truly hope for us all.



Ben Stiller hasn't shown acting chops like this in years and it's very refreshing to see him take on an adult role for a change.



'Greenberg' is easily one of the best films of 2010 and will find a place on many Top Ten lists.Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Posted on March 12, 2011

Tona Keszler says...

Roger Greenberg, an anxious and unsettled middle-aged man from New York City, is house and dog sitting for his older brother in L.A.He meets up with Florence, her brother's beautiful but insecure personal assistant, and calls awkwardly upon old friends with whom he has a chequered past.They get together, but he's prone to self-sabotage and is not an easy man to be with. The film is intrigued by him, but perhaps more intriguing is Florence, and the most serious question that the film poses is what circumstances would allow her to fall for such a self-obsessed and neurotic man, and whether a relationship such as this one could possibly work out.In that sense, the film seems deliberately structured as the inverse of the classic romantic comedy.Where in the standard rom-com we usually know that the two leads are made for each other and want them to come together and it's just details getting in their way, here it's more like we see what's inevitable and we don't want it to happen and we watch almost in horror at the emotional train wreck we know is on its way.



A beautifully-filmed exploration of relationships and of the ways our pasts tend to define and color our present and limit possibilities, Greenberg will disappoint those who go into it expecting Ben Stiller to deliver the laughs.This is closer to Reality Bites than Night at the Museum but it's much more a Noah Baumbach film than a Ben Stiller film, and it'smuch more character study than comedy.There are some painfully awkward and funny moments, but this is not the kind of laugh-out-loud warm-your-heart romantic comedy you might expect based on the cover and the coverage.Stiller does deliver what may be the most nuanced performance of his career - Roger Greenberg is a kind of extreme variation on the self-deprecating and sarcastic but ultimately likable guy that Stiller tends to play.But the real stand out performance in this film is that of Greta Gerwig, whose depiction of Florence is as intimate and raw as anything you'd find in, say, the early film work of John Cassavettes.That shouldn't come as a surprise to those who've seen her in her ultra-low-budget film work, such as the intriguing but imperfect Hannah Takes the Stairs and in the mumblecore horror comedy Baghead; but here, where it feels less on-the-fly improvisational, with a script that's notable for its authenticity and economy, the performance is tighter and more nuanced.



It's clear the director, Noah Baumbach, is deliberately drawing upon the small scale style of the ulta-low-budget indie genre known as mumblecore, given his use of Greta Gerwig as star and Mark Duplass (co-director of Baghead and The Puffy Chair and the much more recent Cyrus) as a secondary character.In some ways the film explores similar territory to a critically acclaimed minimalist mumblecore-type movie called Frownland, but I found this one to be lighter in tone and ultimately more convincing.At the same time, the story feels like a kind of sequel to Baumbach's first film Kicking & Screaming (not the Will Ferrel soccer film but the other one) - since Greenberg and friends could easily be grown up versions of the naively optimistic and overly self-conscious characters from that film, in whom idealism and arrogance were not easily distinguishable.The episode that, as it comes to appear, defined their relationships with the past could easily have been the subject of an early Baumbach film.



The film looks great.The cinematography is rich, capturing authentic, lived-in Los Angeles locales.The emphasis on close-ups combined with widescreen creates a kind of bewildering intimacy, that fits the tone of the film exactly.

Posted on March 13, 2011

Lakia Zuniega says...

There is definitely a place for movies like this though I didn't enjoy it myself.The acting was terrific and I still found myself wanting to see what happened in the end.My biggest problem was that the movie is miss billed on many previews to make one think it will be a quick paced, quick witted comedy.There is nothing quick about the movie and it plods along in a drama that disects the lives of quirky people who are flawed is a goofy, neurotic sort of way. It's artsy and off beat to be sure.Some people will enjoy it.You just need to know what your getting in to.

Posted on March 14, 2011

Ardis Trauth says...

Whereas someone like Steven Spielberg has achieved success because his films can be enjoyed by virtually anyone, Noah Baumbach is a director who has polarized audiences with each of his films, and this one is no exception.



The film follows Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller), a 40-year-old man who has recently suffered a nervous breakdown and is now struggling to just "do nothing." He returns to L.A., where he had grown up and had a semi-successful rock band, and housesits for his brother, Phillip (Chris Messina), while he and his family are away on an extended vacation. Greenberg meets his brother's assistant, Florence (Greta Gerwig), and begins a halting, awkward romance with her. He reconnects with his old band mates -- including Ivan (Rhys Ifans) -- who are still bitter about a record deal that Roger ruined 15 years ago. Roger also attempts to date Beth (Jennifer Jason Leigh), an old girlfriend, but she rejects him.



The film is unconventional. I do disagree, however, that everyone in this film is unlikable. Greta Gerwig is excellent as Greenberg's love interest, as is Jennifer Jason Leigh, Noah Baumbach's wife. The film is out of the mainstream, but when looking at all of the junk coming out of Hollywood these days, that is a good thing.



If you liked films like "The Squid and the Whale" or some of Wes Anderson's work, and you are willing to go in with an open mind, I recommend this film.

Posted on March 15, 2011

Cierra Czarnota says...

A "romantic comedy/drama" featuring depressed and unlikable people is a tough sell.That GREENBERG works to the degree it does is a testament to the good writing and outstanding acting...but it cannot completely overcome the essential problem embedded in its premise.That doesn't mean a movie about unlikable people is a bad idea, but expecting such a film to receive a warm, loving embrace by the audience is a bit of a stretch.



Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) a New York based carpenter who once had a shot at rock star glory, is recently out of a mental institution for severe depression.He's now in Hollywood, house-sitting for his brother and family, who are on extended vacation.House-sitting pretty much involves taking care of Mahler, the family German shepherd.And Roger is assisted in this minimal task by Florence (Greta Gerwig), the personal assistant of Roger's brother...she brings him groceries and essentially handles any small tasks Roger might have.



Thus, Roger is allowed to wallow in his self pity.He "engages" himself in the idea of constructing a doghouse for Mahler...and constantly insists that he's doing a great and noble and generous thing by building it.Yet, over the course of what feels like a few weeks, he only gets about halfway done.He is stuck in a malaise of self-hatred...which hatred he shares generously with those around him by being scornful and dismissive.Everyone is a fake or a phony.Everyone is worthy of derision.But when simply arising in the morning is a monumental task, I imagine it would be hard to care much for your fellow man.



Florence, a clearly intelligent young woman who is also adrift in a life going nowhere, would normally be the most depressing character in any other movie, but in comparison to Roger, she is practically sunshine and light.She also suffers from low self-esteem, which has her engaging in a series of one-night stands that leave her clearly unfulfilled and feeling even worse about herself.She and Roger drift into a "sort of" relationship.They come together briefly for a "date," then Roger says or does something awful and the bounce apart.Her friends tell her to leave him alone.His inner-voice makes him wonder why he treats her so badly.He clearly likes something about her (perhaps her openness to feeling, rather than his cutting-off of feeling), but then he acts as though he can't abide her.He's like the kid in elementary school who punches the girl he really likes, to show how immune to liking a girl he is.



Stiller also reaches out to his old bandmates, particularly Ivan (Rhys Ifans)...these men were once his friends, but years ago, with a record contract on the table, Greenberg apparently scuttled the whole deal and the band fell apart.This has bred enormous resentments between the men.Ivan, a good man struggling to hold his family together, seems genuinely interested in befriending Greenberg.He seems to feel responsible for providing some companionship, however strained, to this lost soul.But Greenberg can't stop picking away at the man, mocking his choice of a marriage partner and generally belittling him.



What is convincing about GREENBERG is that no one has a sudden flash of redemption.The script hews closely to what "real life" would be like...if these characters DO make any progress, it will be tentative and painfully slow.Most of the time, it's one step forward, two steps back.The best we can hope for is to see the dynamic shift to two steps forward and one step back.



This makes it very hard to warm up to the characters.They are fascinating and involving, but throughout viewing this, I was constantly telling myself, "These are awful people.I could care less what happens to them."This was particularly true for Greenberg.I felt sorry but frustrated for Florence...but Roger Greenberg needed a good smack upside the head.



That the movie is enjoyable at all is due to some sharp writing, including the use of the dog Mahler as the vehicle through which Roger and Florence can tentatively bond.Their concern for the dog gives them excuses to come together, even when angry at each other.Further, the excellent work from Stiller and Gerwig elevates the film.These two interesting actors give themselves completely over to their work, and it's very effective.Gerwig is not someone I've noticed before, but she is vulnerable and assured in her work.I'd like to see her now tackle a less trouble character; I suspect there's an effervescent personality there.And Stiller has always had a dark side, even in his most "family friendly" characters; but here he just gives himself over completely to that darkness.I hope like heck he isn't really like this...but he sure plays it convincingly.And Rhys Ifans gives another outstanding performance.He's quiet and contained, so that when his inevitable outpouring of feeling comes, the impact is all the greater.



I encourage adult movie-goers who enjoy tight writing and good acting to check out GREENBERG.If you're looking for a "happy" time at the movies, though...look elsewhere.

Posted on March 20, 2011

Delphine Dileonardo says...

Noah Baumbach known for the film "The Squid and The Whale" wrote and directed this character study on a 40 something socially inept man. Ben Stiller plays "Roger Greenberg" in one of his best acting jobs to date. Greenberg has recently gotten out of a Psychiatric Hospital, but we don't know why he was there. He decides that a change in scenery would help him so he agrees to move to California to house sit for his brother. While there he meets a few people and reconnects with some old band mates. Sorry to say, that's it. There isn't much story here, it's just 107 minutes of Ben Stiller as Roger Greenberg being a general jerk to everyone. There is some humor and some drama, but I felt like this was a waist of time.



As a character study, this succeeds. We are able to see Greenberg at his most raw and vulnerable self. He is condescending, aloof and sarcastic, a role Ben Stiller was born to play it seems. Stiller truly "wowed" me, so on that side it's a hit. It was unlike anything I've ever seen him do before and he played it brilliantly. The problem was that I just didn't care about him. Sure it was nice to see Stiller play a different role than he is used to, but what was the point? I suppose it's that you do eventually see past his rashness and there is an interesting person there. But I still didn't care. I feel as if this was just a gift to Stiller so he could prove his versatility.



The director Noah Baumbach usually does movies I absolutely love, such as: "The Squid and The Whale" and "The Life Aquatic, with Steve Zissou". At least those movies had an interesting story and likable characters.



As the movie drags on we meet "Florence" Stiller's first love interest played by Greta Gerwig. She does a good job acting but like Greenberg, there is nothing really interesting about her. Greenberg meets up with some old band mates and an ex girlfriend. All of whom, while spectacularly acted, were just "blah" characters. They were just boring.



This film has gotten mostly positive reviews from film critics; however, I just couldn't see it. The value is seeing Stiller do something completely out of his comfort zone.



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Posted on March 27, 2011