I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006)

About a man who has trouble with his job, trouble with women, and uses food to deal with it all.

Director:

Jeff Garlin

Writer:

Jeff Garlin

Stars:

Jeff Garlin, Dan Castellaneta, Sarah Silverman

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Garlin	...	James Aaron
Dan Castellaneta	...	Dick
Mina Kolb	...	Mrs. Aaron
Paul Mazursky	...	Charlie Perlman
Rose Abdoo	...	Car Dealership Receptionist
Tim Kazurinsky	...	Bill Bjango
Jessy Schram	...	Fake Daughter
Rebecca Sage Allen	...	Andrea Hope (as Rebecca Allen)
Henriette Mantel	...	Myra
David Pasquesi	...	Luca Giancarlo
Kate Merrill	...	French Woman
Cita Orendain	...	Philippino Woman
Joey Slotnick	...	Larry
Patti Vasquez	...	Hot Dog Lady
Josh Rosenblatt	...	Poncho Boy

Storyline

Life has its downs for James, living with his mom in Chicago at 39, an aging performer at Second City, eating and weighing too much. A woman he's been dating drops him, as does his agent, her brother. James turns down roles in local TV, roles that make him sad. Someone's remaking his favorite movie, "Marty," a role he'd love, but he doesn't even get an audition. He has a minor meltdown when talking at a grade school career day. Things look up when he meets the quirky Beth at an ice cream shop. Can James make a career for himself, move out from mom's, and find someone to eat cheese with? Or is he destined to watch Jackie Gleason and be Marty for the rest of his life?

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Plot Keywords:

cheese | audition | ice cream | food | second city | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes love is just a big bowl of wrong.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 April 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alguém Que Me Compreenda

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$12,317 (USA) (7 September 2007)

Gross:

$194,568 (USA) (4 January 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

3 Art Entertainment, Sawin' & Puddin' Productions LLC, Weinstein Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Beth: Yeah, I used to be chubby when I was a little girl.
James Aaron: Yes, but I'm not a little girl.
Beth: No, you're a big girl.
James Aaron: A big pretty girl.
Beth: Big, pretty girl wanna go for a walk?

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Connections

References Breezy (1973)

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Soundtracks

"Montelimar"
Written by Reg Tilsley
Courtesy of DeWolfe Music

User Reviews

A refreshing indie comedy

Garlin outdoes himself as writer-director-actor in his indie production about a big guy (Garlin) wandering around Chicago with an eye for every woman he sees. The laughs keep coming almost every minute. It's a somewhat dramatic and serious story about a man looking for love, but done with great comedic writing and acting. The supporting roles are also very well done and very funny and really make the movie rich.

Rose Abdoo is hysterical in her receptionist role taking you right into the mood of the rest of the film. Sara Silverman is awesome with some of the great bits she does with Jeff. Bonnie Hunt is classically great in her role. I only wish there was more of her in the film, as I think most will agree. It's certainly refreshing to see her in a tight leather outfit.

David Pasquesi was the aloof detached sidekick, and voice of reason. Mina Kolb plays Jeff's mother who he lives with. There were numerous other cameos, all of them done very well.

At the premier Jeff mentioned his inability to do more with Bonnie due to production issues. Still, it's good to leave you wanting more. I think it's that indie thing of keeping some things ambiguous to let the audience do some thinking for themselves to fill in the blanks. The wordy title should clue you in to this.

Jeff said some of the basic characters were based on his past relationships. This explains why they work so well. Real life people are always unusually colorful and makes great characters. He departs quite a bit from what you might expect, having seen Curb Your Enthusiasm and some of his other work. It's one of those break out things where an actor takes some risks to do something they maybe always wanted to do but couldn't.

I think it's noteworthy that Garlin's improv Second City background, and Hunt's for that matter, set the style here of acting being the focus of the story and the directing. It's perhaps a new innovative hybrid of improv meets indie film-making.