Next Tuesday, Ben Stiller's latest movie Greenberg will be hitting store shelves, and I felt it was my duty to let you know my opinion of the art-house film. If you are a Stiller fan, which I am, you're used to his style of comedy. Throw what you know about him out though - he goes in a completely different direction, with some positive but mostly negative results.
A nanny and her client's neurotic brother (played by Stiller - okay, it's not TOTALLY out of his character) meet in a nice LA home and start a friendship with potential. You should know that this is not a comedy. While there are a couple of very nice moments - a couple laugh out loud ones - there are far more heavy topics covered here. The movie's attempt to capture the lifestyle of the less than successful LA elites failed to offer anything I haven't seen before. If you've seen Laurel Canyon, you've basically seen this movie. Ben Stiller is a great person to make audiences laugh - he's less than successful when he's trying to be convincing as a depressed mope.
The direction is somewhat misguided, and as critically elitist as that sounds, if you watch it you'll know what I mean. The movie wanted to be a Garden State coming of age tale, but it really just was more boring than anything. The characters weren't all that likable, except for a dog that is, and their happiness didn't concern me at all. It's a forgettable film that won't ruin the careers of anyone involved, but it won't top anyone's list of their best work. It's a pity because it's from Noah Baumbach, who directed the phenomenal The Squid and the Whale. I would rate this a 4 out of 10.
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