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Greenberg Review
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Roger Greenberg will probably make you feel good about yourself. He can’t swim. He can’t drive. He’s mildly an alcoholic and kind of hooked on pills. He attempts to get back together with his college girlfriend some 20 years after they broke up and is crashing at his rich brother’s Los Angeles mansion. He needs constant approval, even though he’s 40 years old. Ben Stiller’s leading character in Noah Baumbach’s (The Squid and the Whale) new film, indie drama Greenberg, is prime eye-rolling material, but ultimately endearing.
The film’s retro feeling—the orange and teal hues and the flimsy, folksy air of leading lady Florence Marr (Greta Gerwig)—is Baumbach’s clever (and very cool) way of stylistically portraying Greenberg’s nostalgia. The film is a bit too polar about Greenberg’s faults; he obviously broke up his former almost-famous band, he obviously treats Florence poorly. The film presents him in a way, however, that lets viewers clearly understand why others don’t love him without being burdening or repetitive. As sad and pathetic as Greenberg’s life is, it’s still hilarious. His grocery list has two items: whiskey and ice cream. In a span of six weeks, he writes complaint letters to American Airlines, Starbucks and Mayor Bloomberg.
Although Stiller is best known for roles in comedies like Zoolander and Meet the Parents, his Greenberg is refreshing. With uncropped hair, some grays and color-faded vests, Stiller convincingly plays a character we all hope to never resemble. There are some great lines, like when buddy and former band mate Ivan (Rhys Ifans) tells him, “Youth is wasted on the young,” to which Greenberg replies, “I’d go further: I’d say life is wasted on people.” You have to feel sorry for him, while admitting you’d never be his friend.
The sad eyes, the defensive attitude and the inability to look inward for one minute instead of blaming everyone else for his failures are good reasons to dislike the guy, but the transformation after meeting Florence is heartwarming and overdue. Gerwig is excellent as a girl in her mid-20s mildly pursuing a singing career and drifting through life as a personal assistant to Greenberg’s rich brother. Her childish eloquence, frazzled voice and Joni Mitchell-look are perfect. Having gone through a few hardships herself, you root for her and want her to be better. As weak as she may be, however, her shell is deceivingly thicker than Greenberg’s—and she actually likes him.
Greenberg is a story of life’s disappointments and the reluctance to accept, and overcome, failure. But mostly, it’s about learning to laugh at yourself and admitting that maybe everyone isn’t wrong. Baumbach achieves this in a non-assuming, slow-paced film, filled with hilarious, yet heartbreaking lines and scenes. Perhaps Ivan puts it best when he says to Greenberg during a party full of drugs and 20 year olds: “It’s huge to finally embrace the life you never planned on.”