Greenberg

From acclaimed director Noah Baumbach ("Margot at the Wedding") comes another tale of adult male arrested development.  Ben Stiller plays Roger Greenberg, a 40-something man who returns home to L.A. to house-sit for his brother.  Having just been released from a mental hospital for having a nervous breakdown, Roger's plan is to do absolutely nothing for awhile.  Things get complicated when Roger starts an unlikely relationship with his brother's personal assistant, Florence (played by fresh-faced newcomer, Greta Gerwig).  We've seen this character from Baumbach before... granted they were about 20 years younger and much more handsome than Stiller.  Young men with Peter Pan syndrome have long been a focus of Baumbach's films, such as in "Kicking and Screaming" and "Mr. Jealousy".  However, while in those films the male protagonists were charming in their arrogant superiority and aimlessness, Roger is the complete opposite.  First off, he is a miserable misanthrope who has no misgivings about leeching off the generosity and kindness of others.  He lives in his brother's house free of charge and has no interest in making plans for the future to get back on his feet.  He doesn't want the hassle of being in a relationship but has no qualms with leading Florence on, from trying to sleep with her on their first date out of simple boredom to berating her every chance he gets.  He gets more upset not from the prospect of potentially hurting Florence, but from the inconvenience it may cause him if she were to fall in love with him.  Roger is just a horrible person all-around, and while I understood the picture that Baumbach was trying to paint here, I could not enjoy it.  Baumbach's ability to create interesting, multidimensional characters is something to be admired (check out his amazing film "The Squid and the Whale" for a beautifully bitter portrait of a disintegrating family), but next time I hope he decides to point that camera of his at someone worthy of all the attention.

2 out of 5 stars