Review of Greenberg (2010) by Augustine H — 30 Jul 2015

It's not the insipid, cliched, indie garbage that it appeared to be.

The cast does pretty good work here. For the most part these are all good characters, despite their obvious foibles. Even Ben Stiller is commendable in his role. In fact, Stiller's protagonist is so out-of-the box insane that he transcends the usual cliches you'd normally associate with a narcissistic, manic-depressive, free spirit in an indie dramedy. Whatever his mental disorder, he thinks and reacts in such random, unthinkable, deplorable ways, that one can't help but find this portrayal refreshing (thankfully, the people around him also react appropriately to his anti-social behavior). This also makes him feel more genuine, like he really is capturing the tortured state of mind of a real segment of society.

Equally important, the script is strong. It is often quite witty, and it offers plenty of interesting (again, not cliched) situations in which to demonstrate the disorder of Stiller's character's mind.