'Greenberg,' Stiller, Baumbach keep it real
Don't expect the goofy Ben Stiller in "Greenberg." (Focus Features)
Greenberg
Running time: 107 minutes
MPAA rating: R (profanity, extreme adult situations, drugs)
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When Ben Stiller steps in front of a camera, we get the bungling guy, the sullen lost soul or the campy goof.
He's bungled his way through two "Night at the Museum" mainstream comic-adventures, of course, and played the goof to the hilt in outrageous comedies like "Tropic Thunder," "Dodgeball" and the under-appreciated "Zoolander."
In "Greenberg," we get the other Ben Stiller; the hangdog troubled guy. That should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with writer-director Noah Baumbach's previous dramas of stark mood indigo: "The Squid and the Whale" and "Margot at the Wedding."
As the title character in "Greenberg," Stiller's Roger Greenberg is a prodigal son returning to the smog and broken dreams of Los Angeles from New York. In his opening shot, Baumbach makes it clear that even though L.A. is the land of bright fresh dreams and eternal sunshine, in his films he will be dirtying things up more than just a little.
Roger has come to house sit for his brother's family and to reflect on his own muddled emotions. Fresh out of an institution where he was recovering from "a bad nervous breakdown," Greenberg's plans are simple. He'll heal emotionally, and, if he gets around to it, he'll build a doghouse for Mahler, the family big dog.
If you saw "The Squid and the Whale," which earned Baumbach a screenwriting Oscar nomination in 2005, you know that the characters will be attempting to navigate extremely choppy, murky emotional waters.
Greenberg stuck in L.A. is just like Woody Allen out of his element in the City of Angels sans the humor. This filmmaker, unlike Allen and, in fact, unlike Stiller when he's behind the camera, likes to turn heavy emotional rocks over to see what slithers out.
So our title character, who otherwise occupies his time writing complaint letters to almost every business he encounters, must depend on Florence (Greta Gerwig), the family's personal assistant, to get out of the house. Before we move on, you know the movie's unfolding in trendy L.A. when a family has a personal assistant.
Roger and Florence become emotionally entwined, of course, but in a dark, honest way perhaps only Baumbach can relate on screen. He may not do cheery, but Baumbach has a knack for bottom-feeder emotions.
Greenberg is L.A.'s prodigal son because he fled north years earlier when a decision he insisted on broke up a promising musical group about to land a recording contract. He reunites with standoffish former band mate Ivan (Rhys Ifans of "Pirate Radio"), but soon learns that people move on with their lives and a specific moment in time doesn't wait around for second chances.
Stiller and Ifans are real and really good together. Stiller and Gerwig are real and even better.
"Greenberg" claws through the fog of real life masterfully.
Whether you're in the mood to explore a slightly larger-than-life slice of stark reality is up to you.
He's bungled his way through two "Night at the Museum" mainstream comic-adventures, of course, and played the goof to the hilt in outrageous comedies like "Tropic Thunder," "Dodgeball" and the under-appreciated "Zoolander."
In "Greenberg," we get the other Ben Stiller; the hangdog troubled guy. That should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with writer-director Noah Baumbach's previous dramas of stark mood indigo: "The Squid and the Whale" and "Margot at the Wedding."
As the title character in "Greenberg," Stiller's Roger Greenberg is a prodigal son returning to the smog and broken dreams of Los Angeles from New York. In his opening shot, Baumbach makes it clear that even though L.A. is the land of bright fresh dreams and eternal sunshine, in his films he will be dirtying things up more than just a little.
Roger has come to house sit for his brother's family and to reflect on his own muddled emotions. Fresh out of an institution where he was recovering from "a bad nervous breakdown," Greenberg's plans are simple. He'll heal emotionally, and, if he gets around to it, he'll build a doghouse for Mahler, the family big dog.
If you saw "The Squid and the Whale," which earned Baumbach a screenwriting Oscar nomination in 2005, you know that the characters will be attempting to navigate extremely choppy, murky emotional waters.
Greenberg stuck in L.A. is just like Woody Allen out of his element in the City of Angels sans the humor. This filmmaker, unlike Allen and, in fact, unlike Stiller when he's behind the camera, likes to turn heavy emotional rocks over to see what slithers out.
So our title character, who otherwise occupies his time writing complaint letters to almost every business he encounters, must depend on Florence (Greta Gerwig), the family's personal assistant, to get out of the house. Before we move on, you know the movie's unfolding in trendy L.A. when a family has a personal assistant.
Roger and Florence become emotionally entwined, of course, but in a dark, honest way perhaps only Baumbach can relate on screen. He may not do cheery, but Baumbach has a knack for bottom-feeder emotions.
Greenberg is L.A.'s prodigal son because he fled north years earlier when a decision he insisted on broke up a promising musical group about to land a recording contract. He reunites with standoffish former band mate Ivan (Rhys Ifans of "Pirate Radio"), but soon learns that people move on with their lives and a specific moment in time doesn't wait around for second chances.
Stiller and Ifans are real and really good together. Stiller and Gerwig are real and even better.
"Greenberg" claws through the fog of real life masterfully.
Whether you're in the mood to explore a slightly larger-than-life slice of stark reality is up to you.
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