Greenberg

Greenberg was an interesting film to watch but I ended up respecting it much more than I enjoyed it and will probably won't go out of my way to watch it again. The story follows the titular Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) who's just been released from a mental institution and is spending six weeks at his brother's house in LA while the family is out of the country. The rest of the story follows him as he begins a quasi relationship with the family assistant, and reconnects with people he used to know fifteen years ago. Not a lot happens in terms of big events, but the film has an unforced tone and some nice character moments that feel like something you would actually encounter in real life. I also appreciated how it stayed away from any big emotional denouncements, and tried to stay as grounded as possible.

Unfortunately the film's uncompromising nature is what ultimately kept me from being truly engaged. The main character is for lack of a better term a 'dick,' and not a likable one at that. He's just a guy who makes everyone feel uncomfortable whenever they interact with him, and whose self absorption rivals even my own. While I think that the character is portrayed realistically, and the film doesn't try to make him falsely appealing at all, hes not somebody I would want to spend any time with in real life. I didn't even really mind that the female lead was attracted to him (since we all know women like going out with jerks, otherwise my social life would be completely, as opposed to just mostly, non-existent) but my lack of identification meant that it was difficult to have any real connection with the film on more than an intellectual level, and I really didn't end up caring if there was any emotional advancement or not. Of course I'm not really sure what my point is because had the film made the character more polished, or forced some dramatic metamorphosis, most of what makes it interesting would have been eliminated. Anyway I'm not really sure I can recommend it, but its not a complete waste of time if you do see it. (I need to stop now)