Greenberg — Noah Baumbach has never been the go-to guy for warm and fuzzy characters, but he seems to be testing the limits with his latest protagonist, the unemployed, unmotivated, and almost thoroughly unpleasant Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller). That's not to say that the movie named after him is equally unlikable, however; although it sometimes plays like a mumblecore remake of As Good As It Gets, Greenberg finds Baumbach's acerbic wit and keen sense of interpersonal dynamics intact.
The movie may be named for Greenberg, but it gives at least equal time to Florence Marr, the young nanny/personal assistant played by Greta Gerwig in what should by all rights be her breakout performance. Until now, Gerwig has been known to indie audiences as the queen of mumblecore — that lo-fi genre of semi-improvisational, relationship-oriented films like Hannah Takes the Stairs and Nights and Weekends — and she brings the same blend of sweet comic timing and slightly damaged vulnerability to her role here as she did to those movies.
Florence works for the successful Greenberg family in Los Angeles; Roger, the unsuccessful Greenberg, arrives from New York to housesit while his brother and his brood are on extended vacation abroad. Although Roger is ostensibly keeping busy by building a doghouse for the family's German Shepherd, he actually fills most of his hours writing cranky letters to major corporations, complaining about their poor service. After Florence does some grocery shopping for him (his shopping list consists of whiskey and ice-cream sandwiches), he invites himself over to her place. A couple of halting attempts at conversation later, he's going down on her.
What follows may be the most obviously doomed relationship in cinema history, but Roger and Florence can't help but get pulled into each other's orbit, particularly once the dog becomes ill. It's not the only doomed relationship in Greenberg's life; there's also his former best friend and ex-bandmate Ivan (Rhys Ifans), who blames Roger for the failure of his rock-and-roll dreams, and an ex-girlfriend (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who couldn't be less interested in rekindling their romance. Roger's prickliness boils over during a pool party populated by attractive young people who become the targets of his caustic frustration.
Give Stiller credit: he never tries to soften Greenberg or make him the least bit sympathetic, a choice that may leave many in the audience wondering, "Why am I watching a movie about this guy?" But as we've seen from shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm and the British version of The Office, some of the best comedy comes from the squirmy awkwardness of complete social ineptitude. That's something Baumbach knows well, and in Greenberg he proves he's as good as anyone at producing the kind of laughter that sticks in your throat.
Chloe — The ever-enigmatic Atom Egoyan returns with this offbeat thriller about a doctor (Julianne Moore) who hires an escort (Amanda Seyfried) to seduce her possibly philandering husband (Liam Neeson). If you want a sneak peek at the twist ending, check out the French film Nathalie... , upon which Egoyan's remake is based.
Hot Tub Time Machine — Four men of a certain age (including John Cusack and Rob Corddry) use the improbable title device to travel back to their youth in the 1980s, presumably to correct all the tragic hairstyle and wardrobe choices they made at the time.
How to Train Your Dragon — The suddenly ubiquitous Jay Baruchel lends his pipes to a Viking named Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, who is tasked with taming a dragon in the latest 3D animated extravaganza from Dreamworks. Here's hoping the movie's successful, as we're very excited for the sequel, How to Drain Your Lizard.
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Everything I Know About Love I Learned From Noah Baumbach - Lessons on romance from the director of Greenberg and The Squid and the Whale.
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