Review of Greenberg (2010) by Mario S — 19 Aug 2010

It seems that whenever a popular comedy star begins to wear out his welcome and repeat the same comic routine in increasingly unwatchable movies, a low key independent drama comes around the corner featuring the overexposed comedic actor in a rather darker or more complex role. Typically this role isn't so much of a stretch of acting style as a psychological study of that actor's normal characteristics, bascially having the comedian play a more serious version of roles he or she already plays in funnier movies. This strategy usually works, earning the actor some street cred and showing he or she is capable of doing a movie that doesn't have to go into a wide release on opening weekend and can play to a different audience than the normal studio comedy crowd. Such examples of these are Bill Murray, who perfected the switch with a series of excellent oddball indie films in the last decade ("Lost in Translation" being the most deserving of mention), and Jim Carrey, who did the best work of his career in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" before returning to annoying roles where he would prance around and make stupid voices like he did in his younger and more impressive "Ace Ventura" days. My personal fave may be Adam Sandler's suddenly terrifying and pathetic variation of his normal routine in the classic dark comedy "Punch-Drunk Love.".

It would seem obvious, therefore, to include Ben Stiller in this category now, since his indie film "Greenberg" features the star in a role that requires his normal amount of nervous energy and social awkwardness re-wired to inspire darker and more unlikable emotions than laughter, but Stiller is no stranger to drama, having put in a lot of good, solid work in serious roles before his star rose after putting sperm in Cameron Diaz's hair back in 1998. Just check out his horrifying turn as a drug addict in "Permanent Midnight" or his riveting supporting work in strange films like "Zero Effect" and "Your Friends and Neighbors." I guess one could say that Stiller is still always playing Stiller, even in those roles. He still displays his nervousness around other people, his eagerness to be accepted, his failure at doing so, and his occasional bursts of improvised anger at the situation or people causing him so much frustration and grief. Stiller once again recycles this same formula for "Greenberg," but it's a refreshing return to his more intense, darker performances of the past and a nice change of pace for a comedic actor who hasn't exactly had (aside from the brilliant "Tropic Thunder") a lot of good luck with movies in the last decade since he got really famous.

Stiller plays the title character, a washed up 40-year old who has just been released from a mental hospital in New York (for an apparent nervous breakdown) and is now living in L.A. for a bit, housesitting his brother's nice home while his family is away on a trip and taking care of his family's sick dog. Greenberg is a carpenter, and he plans to build the dog a dog house, but he really just does nothing all day, laying around the house feeling sorry for himself and meeting up with old friends in town who don't really want to see him. He writes rambling letters of pointless anger to major corporations, and avoids crowds as much as he can. The film details his topsy turvy affair with his brother's personal assistant, an oddball 25 year old (Greta Gerwig) who doesn't seem to have a good bearing on her life, either. He meets up with an old bandmate (Rhys Ifans of "Notting Hill," who is surprisingly great), the closest thing to a friend he still has, and manages to reopen a few old wounds in the process that call for deep, indie-movie-styled soul searching.

As directed by "The Squid and the Whale" creator Noah Baumbach, "Greenberg" has a lot in common with "Squid" on the surface. Both are movies about older guys who have accomplished nothing of what they've wanted in life and yet feel the need to bitch about and criticize all those around them who are harder at work in jobs they don't seem to understand the importance of. Both of these movies feature guys in a mid-life crisis who cause more trouble trying to save themselves than they should. Both movies treat sex as something awkward and graphic, which is realistic and smart, and both show older characters displaying incredible contempt for their younger competition and counterparts. Unlike "Squid" though, which was a family affair about every member of a broken home, "Greenberg" is all about one guy: Greenberg. It's the definition of a focused character study. The movie is smart and realistic in not solving all of Greenberg's problems or answering all his questions, but it makes his emotional journey through the film a believable and uncomfortably identifiable story that I found to be a rewarding and satisfying experience.

The real reason to see this movie is Stiller, who takes his comic energy and hones it in on the character, making Greenberg not exactly a likable guy, but a believable and understandable one, nonetheless. His occasional bursts of anger at innappropriate moments, often directed at his love interest Gerwig, are indeed squirm inducing and teeth-grinding. Stiller doesn't want you to really like Greenberg, he wants you to get him. And we do. Like I mentioned before, it's not exactly a new routine for Stiller, but he does it so well and with so much effort and heart for the first time in nearly a decade that I felt he had really pulled off a special, and difficult, performance, and for that, I can't give enough praise to him.

Gerwig comes off just as strong as his sometimes loopy, but very complex, semi-girlfriend. She has earned points as an indie queen for her abilities to create interesting and unique characters based off of her own simple mannerisms and believable line delivery, and I think here she really is the heart of the movie, practically bearing the cross that is Greenberg and making us understand why a young woman would want to do such a thing. She's sexy in a believable, not-overbearing way that is rarely seen in films and never fades into the background when Stiller gets his big moments, staying just as relevant to the tone and mood of a film's scene as he is. I look forward to seeing her in more movies.

"Greenberg" is an excellent drama and dark comedy, but like "Squid and the Whale" and other similarly themed films of generational gaps, it's a bit snobby and pretentious at times, much like its lead character. Baumbach probably agrees too much with his lead character to truly allow the film to not sink into such eye rollingly hipster areas, but it really is all part of Greenberg's spiral, so in the end, I'll let it slide as character development. This script, by Baumbach and Jennifer Jason Leigh (who costars as Greenberg's heavily disinterested ex-girlfriend) is a little light and requires great acting and direction to give it the umph, and luckily it is delivered here. For fans of adult oriented drama that doesn't mince words or puss out when the story gets ugly, "Greenberg" would be a great watch for a night's viewing. Plus, it's always nice (and sadly rare) to see Ben Stiller in something that doesn't suck.