Greenberg

Greenberg tells the story of Roger Greenberg, a man who recently came out of a mental hospital after suffering a nervous breakdown. After 15 years of living in New York, Greenberg agrees to move to L.A. and house sit for his brother for 6 weeks. While there, he hoped to spend his time relaxing and just maybe find meaning once again in his life by reconnecting with the people of his past. The problem with that is that after years apart, those people don't really want to reconnect with him. The only bright spot is the connection he begins to develop with his brother's assistant, Florence.




Ben Stiller is very good as Roger Greenberg. He does a great job showing Greenberg's vulnerability and how he hides his vulnerability by walling himself off from other people. Greta Gerwig also does a good job as Florence, a 26 year old girl who desperately wants a relationship with a man, but because of the relationship with her father doesn't understand how to find it.



Even though this movie was rather bland at times, I rather enjoyed it. Greenberg's quirks are quite entertaining. He is able to find fault with everything. He is unhappy because he is unable to find happiness with the present. He idealizes the past and is constantly trying to recapture it. In the meantime, he ignores the possibilities in front of him.



Greenburg is an interesting film and is worth a viewing. In a lot of ways it reminds of Lost in Translation. Can two people get past their own insecurities and faults and just love one another? This is a problem that a lot of people face. Greenburg is very slow to watch, but worth your time, if you can get past Ben Stiller in a serious role.



My Rating: 2.5 neurotic guys out of 5