Greenberg was weird. I watched the film with my parents last Friday, and after it finished, my dad said, “Well. That was strange. It had funny moments, but I certainly wouldn’t call it a comedy. I don’t know if I liked it or not.” That alone could be my review.
Greenberg’s plot is entirely character driven. Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller), a 40ish guy with emotional problems who doesn’t know what he’s doing with his life, is house-sitting for his wealthy brother and reconnecting with old friends from California. He also develops a thing (I wouldn’t call it a relationship) with Florence (Greta Gerwig) his brother’s personal assistant. Before she meets Roger, Florence, in her mid-twenties, is struggling finding balance after the end of a serious relationship, and her interactions with Greenberg don’t help any. Greenberg shows both of their lives over the six-week period Roger is house-sitting, not limiting its focus to only the interactions between the two.
My biggest complaint with Greenberg was that it moved incredibly slowly (particularly the first two thirds of the movie). I wanted scenes to be shorter and a little more relevant, and I wanted something to happen. There were some incredibly funny scenes (particularly in the last half), but not nearly enough for it to live up to the quirky comedy the trailer portrayed.
I was hoping that by the time I reached this point in the review, I would know how I wanted to rate Greenberg. I liked the characters, I liked the jokes, I thought the acting was well done, but I can’t say the same about the movie as a whole. I’m going to give it a 2/5, though part of that low rating can be attributed to expecting a comedy and getting a drama with some funny moments.
Watch Jon Stewart’s interview with Ben Stiller
Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. I'm currently making my way through the incredibly long biography of Willie Mays, though I hope to finish it by the end of the weekend.
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