Greenberg - A Man Consumed  
| Robert Greenberg (Ben Stiller) is a vile man. So unlikeable you almost feel sorry for him. Here is a man so consumed with his own hatred for life that he bleeds it out affecting those around him. His own friends don't even like being around him. He seems to exist solely to complain about life. So why then, would anyone want to watch a movie about a man like this? I'm not entirely sure to be honest. I suppose its interesting to see how far this guy can take things. Like the tag line says, "he's got a lot on his mind."
Greenberg is about a man recently out of a mental hospital for undisclosed reasons. His brothers family is away in Vietnam so he is house sitting while they are away. He tries to reconnect with his former band mates who are still bitter towards him for ditching the band, simultaneously destroying their dreams of rock stardom. He hooks up, rather awkwardly, with his brothers assistant but is such an asshole to her that at one point she wants nothing to do with him. It's a very odd relationship to watch.
I adore Noah Baumbach very much; he is an extremely good writer. However, I do feel that Greenberg is one of his weaker writing efforts. Everything doesn't flow as nicely as say The Squid and the Whale did. Granted, there are still some glimmering parts that truly excel. You could tell Squid was more personal to him. Here, it feels like he is just writing about someone he may have seen on the street and decided to try and elaborate more. Either way though, it is still an interesting character study. He has a lot to say and uses these characters to flush it out. I particularly found this bit of dialog to be very true - "Hurt people hurt people" says the assistant to Greenberg. Greenberg, being the asshole that he is, says this is trite but it did stick with him.
I like what Noah does with his stories. He doesn't end them at normal spots; he leaves things unanswered and lingering. Greenberg is a fine example. Greata's character says "this is you" while listening to his lengthy voice mail and...scene. Movie over. Normally I wouldn't like something like this but here it works. It depends on the story. This is obviously just a slice of these peoples lives. Their story will continue no matter where the film ends. This way, you can make your own conclusion to their tale.
The acting is really great in this movie. Ben Stiller gives one of his best performances in years. The scene that culminates with him spilling his guts after snorting coke and taking vicodin was excellent. It really makes you sit up and kind of actually feel sorry for him. Greta Gerwig is deliciously odd as the assistant.
If Greenberg teaches us anything its this - don't sweat the small stuff. You should really follow this advice everyday. In the film, Greenberg sends letters to the pet taxi because the floor is hard. He also sends a letter to an airline because of the isles. He then sends a letter to the Mayor of New York complaining about the traffic (who the fuck does that, it's New York for Christ sake!). These are all such stupid and insignificant things in the bigger picture of life. He also says that life is wasted on people. Such an angry person.
Despite Greenberg's assholeness, you should still see this movie. While its not Noah Baumbach's best work, it is still better then a lot of poorly written crap out there. It was funny and interesting but would better watched at home.
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