Movie Review: 'Greenberg' added to director's list of neurotic films
Noah Baumbach appears well on his way to becoming a brand name for the cinema of the self-absorbed.
Since launching his writing-directing career in 1995 with “Kicking and Screaming,” a witty comedy of infantile college grads, Baumbach has racked up an impressive resume of films that walk a fine line between comedy and misanthropy, between intelligence and runaway neurosis. His sharply observed studies seem to position him as a guru of self-obsessed neurotics.
In works such as “The Squid and the Whale” (which earned him an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay), “Margot at the Wedding” and his newest film, “Greenberg,” Baumbach has proven himself a literate moviemaker who is fast carving out a niche on the big screen comparable to that occupied by Larry David on the small screen.
It’s easy to imagine the title character of “Greenberg” (played with cranky intensity by Ben Stiller) showing up on David’s angst-fest, “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and matching the curmudgeonly host insult for insult.
Stiller’s 40ish New York neurotic Roger Greenberg is in emotional freefall when he shows up at a stylish Hollywood Hills mansion to house sit for his prosperous brother, Philip (Chris Messina), who is taking his family on an extended vacation to Vietnam.
Fresh out of the hospital following a nervous breakdown, Greenberg is middle-aged and directionless, working as a carpenter with no passion for his craft. His plan is to hang around the pool, build a doghouse for the family’s German shepherd, Mahler, and venture out only occasionally for groceries. “I’m trying to do nothing,” he says.
In his New York state of mind, Greenberg — who doesn’t drive — finds himself a pedestrian in a highly mobile, mile-a-minute L.A. culture. So, he strikes up a prickly relationship with Florence (a wondrous Greta Gerwig), his brother’s efficient, do-it-all assistant, who agrees to drive him around on errands.
Follow
