Greenberg A-

Greenberg takes some getting used to. But once you get on its peculiar wavelength it comes alive without all that mawkish sentimentality that might fell less talented filmmakers. Giving one of the best performances he has in years, Ben Stiller recalls a bygone somewhat edgier era before he was in pandering tripe like Night At The Museum 2 and Meet the Fockers. He stars as Roger Greenberg, a former rock musician fresh from a nervous breakdown who comes out to his brother's house in L.A. to housesit and get his proverbial shit together. Greta Gerwig is his brother's personal assistant Caroline. They both share something elementary in common, they both feel deep down they're too screwed up inside to be legitimately loved by anyone else. This manifests itself in self sabatoging behavior- immature and insensitive freak outs for him- random one night stands for her.

Maybe it speaks to the movie geek in me, but the film really started to win me over when Stiller meets up with an old friend and they go to a party. Someone asks him how he's doing and he says fair to middling, leonard maltin would give me about two and a half stars. As someone who used to pour over Leonard Maltin's movie guide each and every year to pour over his opinions, this peculiar line highlighted a fun kitchy level of detail that I hadn't expected.

Stiller keeps his stiller-isms in check and in support of the character. There are many many funny laugh out loud moments in "Greenberg." But it's also full of pain, disappointment, loss, and legitimate longing that give it a better more complex and real element. As far as writer director Noah Baumbach's films go, it doesn't quite top "The Squid and the Whale," but it's a whole lot better than Margot at the Wedding.

Greenberg A-