greenberg noah baumbach ben stiller co-plotted by jennifer jason leigh new music by james murphy

what is the deal with this--will this be good

http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/greenberg/

Someone alert dabug -- Brie Larson is in this.

ok give me his number and i'll call him

was hoping it would be a biopic about hank greenberg

noah b. is one of my secret boyfriends. i will see this the day it comes out.

i dig greta gerwig. this will b good 4 her career.

ben stiller seems too old to play this character

we will learn something about lyfe by the end of this movie

James Murphy just walking by texting in the background of the party scene at the start of the trailer.

Honest to goodness, I swear when I read the title of this thread I thought it was a joke-name (in the started by section) someone had made up.

Liking the look of this. My feelings are mixed as to how the story will play out, but the dialogue in the trailer is sharp "I hope I die before I meet any of you at a job interview."

<3 baumbach
jbr, i think you will also like this movie :)

I didn't realize Mark Duplass was in this, I was wondering if he was going to make a move to bigger movies, and this is definitely a bigger movie for him. He was really good in Humpday, Baghead and the Puffy Chair.

Oh duh Gerwig was in Baghead too.

So this is basically the biggest mumblecore movie then.

it's the co-optation of mumblecore, man!

duplass bros are doin that terrible looking movie w/ john c reilly & jonah hill -- there was a preview for it before this

anyway, this was pretty good. at least a ton better than margot at the wedding. thought stiller did a v. nice job w/ it

If I see this and like it, it will be the first time that's happened with Baumbach.

i agree w/ that sentiment, im no squid & whale fan either

Despite the across-the-board solid acting, didn't like this much at all. I didn't feel the slightest bit engaged by Greenberg as a character - he alternated from being totally inert to these too-broad displays of cluelessness (letter-writing, party freakout). Would have much preferred a whole movie about Gerwig's character.

so narrowly dodged having to see this last night... whew

exactly what didnt u like, Whiney?

THE TABLES HAVE TURNED

kind into the idea of seeing this movie, totally h8 a greenberg type dude

> http://www.theawl.com/2010/03/flicked-off-greenberg-or-mean-is-the-new-sad <

tried to watch kicking and screaming the other nite, was too much to ask to endure those intolerable people AND their pukey dress sense, lasted like 20 mins

http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/large/77463690.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/25q6lnp.jpg

lol fattay wingtips go here >

the way those boys in kicking in screaming dress was totally my crush archetype when i was like fourteen.

h8 u, ice cr?m

I wanted her on the phone with Gina, her bro-ette and WAILING OUT HER SOCKETS ABOUT that damaged Jew fuck, that arrogant prick, that tiny-dicked psycho.

so narrowly dodged having to see this last night... whew

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Sunday, March 28, 2010 10:24 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

exactly what didnt u like, Whiney?

― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Sunday, March 28, 2010 11:05 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i told you, i DODGED having to see it. shit looks like a mix of wes anderson's most precious moments, juno's most clueless moments and a sad man way too old to be reading stereogum

so itd be like looking in a mirror for 2 hours huh

nah, theres todd solondz movies for that

http://img208.yfrog.com/img208/6774/df1g.jpg

ha

Yeah about 1/4 of the audience I saw it had walked out by the hour mark.

ha whered you find that johnny

hipster antisemitism imo

on sum other msg borad

i dont really understand what a walkout-er assumed it would be when they bought a ticket tbh

ben stiller manchild comedy probably?

we will learn something about lyfe by the end of this movie

― velko, Wednesday, November 25, 2009 1:32 PM (4 months ago)

• jewish baseball player romantic comedy

• art criticism conspiracy thriller

documentary abt environmentally sustainable la suburbs

lol @ whiney deciding he hates it before he sees it

i don't think that's unreasonable

is bragging about not having seen a movie a new ilx fad

for most ppl its not unreasonable, but this is the dude who hated adventureland because they listened to big star

is bragging about not having seen a movie a new ilx fad

― iatee, Sunday, March 28, 2010 2:40 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

this is confined to ilx now?

for most ppl its not unreasonable, but this is the dude who hated adventureland because they listened to big star

― deej khalifa (deej), Sunday, March 28, 2010 2:42 PM (35 seconds ago) Bookmark

i'm not trying to say that whiney isn't a horrible person, just that greenberg looks like ass

this thread is full of fucking awful challopsy awfulheads. i loved this movie.

I thought it was pretty good, not as good as Squid, better than Kicking and Screaming, wish it resolved a little better. Acting was great.

the way those boys in kicking in screaming dress was totally my crush archetype when i was like fourteen.

h8 u, ice cr?m

― horseshoe, Sunday, March 28, 2010 1:18 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

looool sry

lol @ whiney deciding he hates it before he sees it

― deej khalifa (deej), Sunday, March 28, 2010 3:36 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

vs.

This new Kidz In the Hall is like Facepalm: The Album

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Saturday, March 27, 2010 4:08 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lol u listened to it

― hipster puddy (J0rdan S.), Saturday, March 27, 2010 4:11 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

you dudes both listen to some shitty rap. why?

― deej khalifa (deej), Saturday, March 27, 2010 6:06 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

> http://www.theawl.com/2010/03/flicked-off-greenberg-or-mean-is-the-new-sad <

― ice cr?m, Sunday, March 28, 2010 11:44 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lol i thought that was supposed to be some kind of high quality blog, not fukken incoherent AIM transcripts

the fact that this movie is apparently inspiring tons of walkouts almost makes me interested in seeing it! i had no idea!

incoherent chat transcripts are the highest form of quality blogging

have a hard time thinking anyone would really walk out on this unless they were being woefully mislead before going in. it's exactly what you think it is. if you think you don't like this sort of thing you won't.

maybe they just really wanted to hear the james murphy music

I love this movie and am glad it will make money off people who walk out of it lol

i saw it -- not terribly original, not awful by any means indie comedy about neurotic dysfunctional weirdo protagonist who is challenged to take a shot at normalcy via a thinly-characterized pretty younger girl. had some really nice moments. nothing really awful except the balloon-man thing which reminded me too much of the plastic bag from american beauty (at least it wasn't verbalized in the same way). but nothing really amazing. if the movie really was 1/2 devoted to gerwig's character (who starts the movie) i would likely have gotten more out of it.

why would people walk out on this? were people offended by the non-political way the film deals w/ abortion as a fact of life?

would be really easy to characterize any number of indie clichés via this film without this really being a definitive strike against it.

(they thought it was a) ben stiller manchild comedy probably?

― alt-3, gold & silver (Lamp), Sunday, March 28, 2010 3:28 PM (8 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this is the answer btw as far as why people walked out

what they didnt realize was... IT WAS! (full disclaimer: i have not seen the movie 'greenberg')

lol whiney u think the director of squid & the whale is the cinematic equivalent of kidz in the hall??

i mean, i just struggle to understand how a dude who lives in brooklyn & played in indie bands & regularly reviews indie music & likes bands like 'fuck buttons' is kneejerk rejecting perceived 'indie aesthetics' in film. i mean, i think 500 days of summer was pretty tacky tweesploitation too, but im not gonna rule out any movie just bcuz they used lcd soundsystem in a trailer or whatever

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism_of_small_differences

your dumbshittedness knows no bounds if you think Fuck Buttons is the the equivalent of precious Juno indie movie bullshit. you're thinking She And Him or something. Fuck Buttons is House of The Devil and shit

and that's like the fourth dumbest thing in that post

Here are the guys we're talking about:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/FuckButtonsSSW2008.JPG/800px-FuckButtonsSSW2008.JPG

L-R: ben stiller, jams murphy

lol whiney u think the director of squid & the whale is the cinematic equivalent of kidz in the hall??

― deej khalifa (deej), Monday, 29 March 2010 06:47 (5 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this makes sense tbh

sign is probably from some big Tea Party state

i thought ben stiller was pretty great in this, but on the whole i thought it was pretty much insufferable -- was kind of hoping he would OD/commit suicide

the only good scene was him & ivan yelling outside the party

first baumbauch i've ever seen fwiw

you poor boy.

amazing that stiller has even worse hair on the promo tour for this than he has in the movie -- it's like the return of the jim carrey midlife crisis shag

Loved this movie. Could've gone wrong in so many ways, but it didn't. Lots of great moments.

"you have to be able to see past the kitsch"

"i can see past it"

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2009/05/04/090504sh_shouts_baumbach#ixzz0hp7Ea9kg

Loved this movie. Could've gone wrong in so many ways, but it didn't. Lots of great moments.

― jam master (jaymc), Friday, April 2, 2010 7:47 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark

did you like the ending? i tend to have problems w/ the endings of these types of films because it's when the plot mechanics have to kick into a new gear and thus reveal themselves a bit too plainly.

(btw jaymc are you still in chicago? would be nice to catch up some day)

have a hard time thinking anyone would really walk out on this unless they were being woefully mislead before going in. it's exactly what you think it is. if you think you don't like this sort of thing you won't.

― akm, Sunday, March 28, 2010 5:57 PM (6 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

ezraklein Walked out of Greenberg (sorry, baumbach). Walked into Pizzeria Regina. Win, I think.
3 minutes ago via Tweetie

i thought this was nice enough even if it wasnt my thing, and naturally whiney's objections to it were basically insane -- theres nothing 'cutesy' or 'precious' or 'twee' or little miss sunshine about it at all so

i will say that tho generally speaking i dont really identify w greenberg-types i think whiney kinda brings it out in me

wonder how much stiller got paid? this is going to end up grossing only $4-5mil, but at least that's a big improvement over Margot at the Wedding

baumbach shld hav 2 pay reparations to any1 that saw margot at the wedding

i got rhineland iirc.

A modest success, tho I really like Stiller's disturbing performance, and man he looked like hell.

liked this a lot, dug the 70s-style-LA-stylings, was into how "greenberg" himself didnt appear till 15 minutes in, interesting choice, thought it was good how everyone else in the movie was like 2 feet taller than him

not terribly original, not awful by any means indie comedy about neurotic dysfunctional weirdo protagonist who is challenged to take a shot at normalcy via a thinly-characterized pretty younger girl

I haven't seen this movie, but if amateurist's description is even close to accurate I'm like jfc, how many of this sort of movies does one planet need?? Whole genre is ripe for a satire at this point. You could call it "Growing Up" or something.

This has been pointed out. However, this was cringier than most. At its best it's really sad, btw.

how many movies about transformers does this world need? it's not the story it's the way it's told iirc

idk stories abt human centipedes seem to have some intrinsic appeal

greenberg IS a human centipede... like an emotional level... is the thing

well... if u really think about it... like really think... arent we are all human centipedes in how we consume film... just eating up the same shit

A saving grace of the Greenberg character is that many of his complaints about the culture are valid, ie people laughing like fucking hyenas in restaurants. He just can't channel his objections productively or humanely. One of the more subtle scenes is with JJ Leigh in the coffee shop, where she says "My mom is sick" and he just prattles on about the ailing dog, and you figure he's just too self-absorbed to hear her. Then 30 seconds later he says "I'm sorry about your mom," which is even worse.

As for the 'maladjusted man' trend, it's what's around us. I mean, 35-year-old men are riding skateboards.

baumbach shld hav 2 pay reparations to any1 that saw margot at the wedding

― where display names die, unrecognized (Lamp), Monday, 26 April 2010 05:25 (1 week ago) Permalink

I like Gerwig's reasoning for gaining 15 lbs for the role ("she seemed like the sort of girl whose legs would touch when she walked").

He just can't channel his objections productively or humanely.

reminds me of someone else I know...

my only real problem with the film or the character was the "writing angry letters to corporations" thing, it was just way too on the nose and not really funny enough if that was the point...

again, i didn't hate this movie

but watching interviews, i dunno, baumbach just seems kinda of punchable.

SECRET: I AM ARMOND WHITE

but watching interviews, i dunno, baumbach just seems kinda of abortable.

baumbach just seems kinda of punchable

In a Shakey Mo way?

(j/k, but that hurt dude, c'mon)

but watching interviews, i dunno, baumbach just seems kinda of abortable.

― World B. FAP (J0rdan S.), Thursday, May 6, 2010 8:16 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

b-b-b-but that's... impossible!

what was the point of that post

mine?

it was a reference to armond white saying that baumbauch should've been retroactively aborted

i meant amatsts

oh

it's amateurist hour over here

Saw this last night. Not really sure yet how I feel about it. Not trying to duck--it's like Punch Drunk Love, in that it seems to aspire to (and get) an ambivalent and somewhat confused response. One thing that did disappoint me was the music. The Squid and the Whale (huge fan) had Bert Jansch's "Courting Blues" and Lou Reed's "Street Hassle," Margot at the Wedding had Karen Dalton, Greenberg has...Steve Miller. I liked "Admiral Halsey," and there were a few seconds of a Galaxie 500 song I'd forgotten about that sounded good, but not much else.

'jet airliner' is a great fukkin song though

this had greta singing that judee sill song at the silver lake lounge

The Squid and the Whale (huge fan) had Bert Jansch's "Courting Blues" and Lou Reed's "Street Hassle,"

Not to mention Dean & Britta doing the rest of the score.

filmmaker is not a goddamn DJ

and I'd reallllly be bitching if this was anything like Punch Drunk Love.

this was rad

i was abt as neutral as can be going in: h8 fuckin mumblecore, and though i dug TS&TW baumbach's stuff with wes anderson has been terrible. but this was rad.

you sound like Greenberg at college kids' party

kind of how i feel on ilx/in lyfe

filmmaker is not a goddamn DJ

A filmmaker's everything--DJ, acting coach, writer, painter, choreographer, everything. Are you saying that the soundtracks of, say, Mean Streets or Scorpio Rising aren't integral to what's great about those films (or that the completely predictable soundtracks to the Forest Gumps and Flamingo Kids of the world are one more reason they're not nearly as good as they could or should be)? For filmmakers like Baumbach and the two Andersons, DJ'ing, if you will, means a whole lot.

Should read, "aren't one more reason...".

i only recognized the serge gainsbourg track tbh. and that was used in 'heat vision and jack'. (i also dug the 'zoolander' callback.)

And for what it's worth, by saying that Greenberg is like Punch-Drunk Love, I didn't mean in terms of story or even necessarily mood; I meant that it's a very off-putting film, and that both are liable to leave the viewer somewhat perplexed as to what the filmmaker had in mind. Me, anyway--I was a little perplexed by both. But bitching, you? C'mon--I just can't see it happening.

xpost think I missed the zoolander reference, whereabout was it?

Thought this film was nice enough.

he says in the voicemail that he used to spoof charlie sheen saying "who am i?" in "wall street", which is also s.thing zoolander says to parodic effect.

this had 'the chauffer' in it (duran duran).

I kind of forgot I even saw this. I guess it was fine but it was not the most memorable film.

Admiral Halsey!

enjoyed this way way more than i thought i would

Will start watching this in a little while -- looking forward to hating it.

that's the spirit.

Saw this last night finally, thought it was better than Margot at the Wedding but not as good as Squid & the Whale. Thought it mainly suffered from the lack of energy, everyone was so soft-spoken and repressed and mild-mannered, which was why the best part was when Greenberg was high at the party and telling off the college kids and they were laughing at him. Also like him telling his friend to sit on his dick.

^^^ I'll second that. Better than I thought, although Baumbach runs out of script in the last fifteen minutes.

Stiller is first-rate.

Gerwig was perfect for the part of Florence, and yeah, Stiller was great. Good acting all around.

I forget I told my wife I was going to check on IMDB to see if the dog's name was "Mauler" (ie one who mauls) or "Mahler" (which seems more in character)

oh man apparently Amy Adams was originally going to play Florence, I don't think that would have worked

I know Gerwig's playing a squish but she was too wan, and reminded me too much of Chloe Sevigny.

I could imagine Amy Adams playing Jennifer Jason Leigh's character.

I thought JJL's one scene in the restaurant--the one where it dawns on her that Stiller is clinging to the idea that he can win her back--was very strong. I generally find her performances affected since Fast Times, but not there.

this was good but in a way I didn't enjoy watching it because Stiller was SO loathsome. kept waiting for him to get his ass kicked/beaten. not as good as Squid and the Whale.

Thought Gerwig and Stiller were both fantastic, but that ending sucked.

the saddest thing about this movie was when Greenberg blows up at Florence for not telling him off/sleeping around too casually/not having any self-esteem - right speech for her to hear, wrong person for her to hear it from. mostly I just felt sorry for her for falling for this douchebag.

I like Gerwig's reasoning for gaining 15 lbs for the role ("she seemed like the sort of girl whose legs would touch when she walked").

Did she really say that? That's hideous.

liked this a lot. stiller seemed almost on the verge of stiller-ising it at times but i thought his performance was really good/sensitive in general. in fact i think it was greta gerwig who at times bugged me in the same was rebecca hall does in doing that 'empty vacant expression in place of acting' thing a few too many times. not enough to make me hate her or anything but still. few people walked out during the screening which surprised me. but i didnt care as i was more concerned with how i seem to resemble greenberg.

I dug k&s and squid, but goddam this was loathsome. The fact that like everyone on this thread is like yeah ok on this is vexing. I'm not calling u guys out; there's prob something wrong w/ me

The movie sucked, but Stiller was excellent -- should've been in Oscar lineup.

Couldn't even get through half of it.

there's prob something wrong w/ me

with the three of you, yep

I think there is something wrong with anyone who would be able to get into a movie about any of these people, frankly.

I didn't think the film was so horrible. I did go into it with pretty low expectations, though, after hearing everyone harsh on it so much, so...

My favorite parts were the brief scene where he is left alone to chat with Florence's friends at the bar, and the lunch with JJL. I think they both highlighted his Holden Caulfield stuntedness really well-- like, his approach to life is so obviously self-defeating, but at the same time you can't help sympathizing with some of his attitudes and defense mechanisms at least a smidgen when you see the rawness of his persona contrasted with so much of the world around him.

Liking this means you are somehow similar to these people and a horrible person too?

I found this movie incredibly sad.

I found this movie incredibly sad.

^^^this. I didn't think it was bad, and some of it delivered on uncomfortable laffs (like Stiller trying to take over the stereo at the party) but yeah so many of the characters were so unlikable

just like ILX

That's Baumbach's next movie (I mean assuming he isn't retroactively aborted Terminator-style by a time-traveling robot that looks like Armond White.)

I kinda liked this, but my wife hated it and is mad that we can't have those two hours back.

i was planning on avoiding this forever because i suspected (rightly as it turned out) that this would be one of those movies where the main character reminds me too much of myself and it turns out to be really uncomfortable

but it's pretty good! i think the fact that the movie so clearly despises greenberg made it easier for me

detail i really liked that also hit too close to home: greenberg-in-the-passenger-seat constantly telling people how to drive

I've watched about 45 minutes of this so far, and I think it's pretty sad stuff. I don't think I've ever seen an interview with Baumbach, but I imagine he is one messed up dude carrying lots of baggage.

Have you seen The Squid and the Whale or Margot at the Wedding? I'd say the first is much, much better than Greenberg; the second is similarly uneven. Neither disproves your theory.

i watched this against my better judgement and kinda felt like yeah, people like that totally exist, but i dunno if anyone needed a movie about them.

^yes

one of those movies where the main character reminds me too much of myself

what are the other ones

spiderman

http://indyashoppe.com/images/Escape%20From%20New%20York.jpg

dont judge me...

so ur momus now?

idgi

this was a watchable movie but it made it seem like the world was such a small place

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eXgMFcBgG_g/SMc2-4WShVI/AAAAAAAACKc/uOGX--LaQlw/s400/satin_eye_patch.JPG

I thought his costar was quirky in the most boring way.

also I am wary about criticizing too harshly right now because I have to search the thread first and see if I praised it like a year ago or something and forgot

i was abt as neutral as can be going in: h8 fuckin mumblecore, and though i dug TS&TW baumbach's stuff with wes anderson has been terrible. but this was rad.

― ultra nate dogg (history mayne), Tuesday, June 22, 2010 6:36 AM (10 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

you sound like Greenberg at college kids' party

― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, June 22, 2010 7:14 AM (10 months ago) Bookmark

tried to watch kicking and screaming the other nite, was too much to ask to endure those intolerable people AND their pukey dress sense, lasted like 20 mins

― ice cr?m, Sunday, March 28, 2010 11:47 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

how dare u

somehow i still haven't seen this

ok lol I just remembered stiller had that norm macdonald in dirty work thing of making notes to self with a tape recorder what a stupid fucking movie

I thought his costar was quirky in the most boring way.

― ginny thomas and tonic (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, May 15, 2011 5:55 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

the chick? i dont think 'quirky' is what they were going for

horseshoe i feel like you probably wouldnt like it

some people in this thread said they would've rather seen a movie that concentrated on the Florence character but im not so sure about that - i dont think the movie understood her as well as it did Greenberg, she's pretty thinly drawn

I liked this movie. The awkward oral sex scene, that was painful . . .

I found the party freakout to be hilarious to a point.

I thought his costar was quirky in the most boring way.

― ginny thomas and tonic (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, May 15, 2011 5:55 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

the chick? i dont think 'quirky' is what they were going for

i was thinking this was re: rhys ifans, in which case alfred otm
i don't know how that guy gets work anyhow. he takes you out of the movie.

hah i thought about rhys ifans at first but i was like 'no that cant be' because he was... just a normal dad

that was the first time i've liked ifans in years

Pretty sure I weighed in above the fold but I found the characters unlikeable but it felt very real and yeah sad is right. I think despite being about a type of person or people the problems it addressed felt fairly universal, or at least, although it was about a solipsist, the film didn't feel particularly solipsistic

It's certainly not afraid of making its protagonist unlikeable, felt more like unflinching honesty than disconnected from the world or w/e

Ben Stiller was awesome and should have gotten an Oscar nom.

I haven't seen this yet but have been meaning to. Just have to say horseshoe totally otm:

tried to watch kicking and screaming the other nite, was too much to ask to endure those intolerable people AND their pukey dress sense, lasted like 20 mins

― ice cr?m, Sunday, March 28, 2010 11:47 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

how dare u

― horseshoe, Sunday, May 15, 2011 5:58 PM (37 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

although it was about a solipsist, the film didn't feel particularly solipsistic

this is where I was at with the movie, liked it more than I thought I would

tried to watch kicking and screaming the other nite, was too much to ask to endure those intolerable people AND their pukey dress sense, lasted like 20 mins

― ice cr?m, Sunday, March 28, 2010 11:47 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

ice cr?m and I agree on something--I found a VHS copy at a bankruptcy sale and lasted about 15.

Well it's definitely dated but I still love it. This was one of those I can quote every line movies for me for years so I don't think I could ever hate it.

Squid and the Whale was his total childhood autobiographical outlet, and it can't be a coincidence that it followed so many years of silence after "Mr. Jealousy." My guess is the gap was filled partly by extensive therapy. Given what Stiller has said about "Greenberg," I assume it, too, has many painful drawn from life elements via Baumbach, as I imagine does "Kicking and Screaming."

haha i liked kicking & screaming, anyone trying to do a fake whit stillman is ok w me i guess

'minor baumbach,' to paraphrase squid + whale

i watched this against my better judgement and kinda felt like yeah, people like that totally exist, but i dunno if anyone needed a movie about them.

This is a weird argument. I mean, I know it's a figure of speech and everything, but no one "needs" a movie about anything. Why is this dude (or kind of dude) less worthy of a movie than anyone/-thing else?

yeah i didnt really know what to do with that sentence

"It's not what the movie's about. It's how it's about it." -- R. Ebert

I totally respect someone saying they don't need a sympathetic movie about a solipsist, though.

the movie so clearly despises greenberg

closer to "pities" I'd say

Yeah, it's totally pity. I don't know why this popped into my head just now, but it's sort of like Mike Leigh's "Naked" were the nihilism swapped out for emotional tragedy.

so so many great things about this. man that scene where they go for lunch was just killer; excruciatingly brilliant. i genuinely didn't know Ben Stiller had this kind of performance in him, i could gladly never have watched anything with him in ever again beforehand.

i watched this against my better judgement and kinda felt like yeah, people like that totally exist, but i dunno if anyone needed a movie about them.

This is a weird argument. I mean, I know it's a figure of speech and everything, but no one "needs" a movie about anything. Why is this dude (or kind of dude) less worthy of a movie than anyone/-thing else?

― jaymc, Sunday, May 15, 2011 8:50 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

i'm not going to defend my tossed-off post as some 100% true statement i totally believe in, but i feel like you're taking it a little too literally, it was just a figure of speech, not a "oh my god they could be using this movie's budget for something IMPORTANT" type of thing.

but to flesh out my feelings a little bit: as convincingly as the character was written/performed, I didn't think the movie itself was suitably entertaining or poignant or whatever to prop up that character. which is to say Greenberg the character would've been a greater creative accomplishment in a movie that was not called Greenburg with the title role played by a big name star and almost all the other characters essentially existing only to react to him.

I didn't think the movie itself was suitably entertaining or poignant or whatever to prop up that character.

Okay, that's fair. We disagree, though.

saw him chatting w/ Coen Bros at Linc Ctr the other night, and he said he put extra opening credits in so he could stick w/ shot of Gerwig driving to Steve Miller.

any thoughts on thematic overlap btwn this film and Azazel Jacobs's Momma's Man?

so ur momus now?

― johnny crunch, Sunday, May 15, 2011 5:49 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

idgi

― public anime #1 (Princess TamTam), Sunday, May 15, 2011 5:52 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark

haha, i get it now.

Finally saw this - not bad. As with a lot of baumbach there were many nice moments but the whole did not add up to much. Stiller was solid and Gerwig was amazing. Helped that I could focus on random la details when things got dull.

http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/images/2013/02/Frances-Ha-Poster.jpg

liked Greenberg way more than expected but man I cannot stand Greta Gerwig, sorta tentative on this

the part where greeneberg was casually cutting off lil pieces of hIs hair while talking to his friend was p ingenious, I think I mightve fell asleep after that tho idk it was a while ago, cant believe I passed up the chance to fight w horseshoe and erica abt how those horrible dudes in kicking and screaming dress I mustve been in some weird mood

I guess these people are my friends, for some reason.
I guess I like you, for some reason.
I guess let's have sex, for some reason.
I guess I love you, for some reason.

Maybe the soundtrack will explain everything.

"oh man apparently Amy Adams was originally going to play Florence, I don't think that would have worked"

for the Hope Davis Sundance role you need someone suitably Hope Davis-y.

Whiskey and ice cream sandwiches yo

Liked this a little better the second time. That Gerwig would pursue Stiller, I have to suspend disbelief a little there. (Ditto that failed, stubbornly anti-commercial musician Stiller would jump up and run to the stereo so he could put on Duran Duran.) Gerwig and Stiller's friend are very good. Stiller, I'm not sure. His drug-addled little speech to the 20-year-olds (about never wanting to find himself at a job interview with any of them) is good.

man coked up stiller running to the stereo to put on 'the chauffer' and none of the millenials being remotely interested was very very very believable

Really? Wouldn't Duran Duran be anathema to someone like Stiller? He puts Karen Dalton on his mix-tapes.

nah, if he'd rushed over to play 'the reflex' that would've been out of character but 'the chauffeur' was the kind of deep cut stiller's character would've definitely felt the need to let these kids know about, it was on the pitchfork 500. gerwig being into his character was kinda plausible, i've seen some chicks be into some huge asshole losers, esp when they were young and the asshole loser was oldish.

i kinda loved greenberg despite alot of its flaws but i really didn't care for kicking and screaming back in the day and loathed mr jealousy. should i bother w/ this schmuck's other movies? i've had frances ha ha on my netflix list for forever.

Okay. I think I'm of a generation where such distinctions don't exist. Duran Duran is Duran Duran.

xp I think Squid and the Whale is worth your time, and I did like Frances Ha.

yeah i do like gerwig alot so i've been tempted w/ the recent ones

i kinda loved greenberg despite alot of its flaws but i really didn't care for kicking and screaming back in the day and loathed mr jealousy. should i bother w/ this schmuck's other movies? i've had frances ha ha on my netflix list for forever.

bro

I had an inadvertent 'solopsistic males with personality disorders' film fest this weekend, featuring this movie and The Comdedy and the 30 For 30 film about Ricky Williams. That may have been poor judgment on my part.

The Comdedy

saw this for the first time last night. really tight, well-acted movie. maybe stiller’s best performance? I would really love to read a serious psychoanalytic take on the greenberg’s character — I found stiller’s way of inhabiting a character so consumed by his bad habits and neuroses, impelled by this ugly, vacillatory mix of guilt and inflated self-regard, to be moving in a really disturbing way.

also loved gerwig and her character. it’s a shame she doesn’t act nearly as much these days

this thread is such a funny time capsule btw

I liked this well-enough back when I saw it, but I never believed for one second that Greenberg was some kind of prior would-be rock-star/artist.
It was also funny how all of his former band members criticize him for turning down the "great opportunity" of SIGNING TO A MAJOR LABEL when you know they would have ended up one of those bands on an internet list of "90s acts that sold a thousand units despite being on Geffen/Sony/Universal".

Great movie.