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Stiller gets serious in 'Greenberg'

By Thomas Leonard

Published April 16, 2010

In an era of indie films ripe with awkward loners and mundane conversation, "Greenberg" appears on the surface to be just another face in the mumblecore crowd. With Ben Stiller spouting nihilistic lines, such as, "Life is wasted on people," this story of a directionless mid-life crisis seems like a tired exercise in art house naval-gazing. What saves "Greenberg" from its clichéd fate is its endearing honesty and biting humor.

In "Greenberg," Ben Stiller plays the sardonic Roger Greenberg, a bitter one-time songwriter turned Brooklyn carpenter relocating to Los Angeles after a nervous breakdown. He's watching his successful brother's ritzy house and beloved dog, and he resolves to "do nothing" for a while.

Roger spends his days resentful, watching the garish neighbors swim in the backyard and writing angry complaint letters to American Airlines and Starbucks. He hates the manufactured culture in America and feels cheated by the establishment.

Stiller immerses himself in this world of cold umbrage with a masterful nuance that makes you forget you're watching a comedy actor. The fact that the audience can still feel for such a pessimistic character gives Roger the sort of license to callously whine previously reserved for a J.D. Salinger character. It's like Holden Caulfield all grown up.

Just as Holden discovered he was never really alone, Roger finds his reclusive loneliness powerless to his brother's personal assistant and fellow loner, Florence (the brilliantly subtle Greta Gerwig). The caring, curious Florence is an aspiring singer and 15 years his junior; Roger's past finds a kindred spirit in Florence's present.

The romance is awkward and discomforting but surprisingly, easy to root for. Noah Baumbach, the writer and director best known for his collaborations with Wes Anderson and breakout family drama, "The Squid and the Whale," has a knack for characters. His protagonists are multidimensional and flawed but always unapologetically real.

Baumbach's dedication to crafting such fleshed out personas forces the audience to get inside the movie's skin and be taken along for the emotional ride. With characters ridden with such social anxiety and emotional issues, the dedication of "Greenberg" to the viscerally real can turn tedious and trying. The film consistently redeems itself through its layered performances and biting wit.

Just as he so masterfully displayed in "The Squid and the Whale," Baumbach has a flare for finding the funny in the most uncomfortable situations. He uses this talent to turn Roger's anxious episodes into laugh-out-loud moments, such as his brilliantly constructed birthday scene.

Even in those moments, the typically brash and over-the-top Stiller stays perfectly in character. Throughout, Roger is still Roger — cold, reserved, uneasy and alienated. The fact that Stiller can hit his comedic marks while never straying from Roger's core makes this performance one of his best yet.

There's something so wonderfully human about this performance, and "Greenberg" itself, that turns such an unlikable character study into such an irresistible movie. There are moments in the first third that seem to move painfully slow; they pale in comparison to the emotional pay-off Baumbach and his cast give so generously as some sort of consolation prize.

"Greenberg" is embittered, enigmatic and doesn't seem to really need you to like it. But just like Roger, its flawed human nature and big, beating heart prove to be too much to resist. It's worth getting to know.