I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Jeff Garlin

Writer (WGA):

Jeff Garlin (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Sometimes love is just a big bowl of wrong.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Second City | Agent | Food | Cheese | School

Cast

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

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

3 Art Entertainment

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?

Movie Connections:

References A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Modest Comedy About a Lonely Sad Sack Boasts a Smart Cast to Overcome Its Familiar Premise

Any movie that offers Bonnie Hunt, Sarah Silverman and Amy Sedaris in the supporting cast has to be well worth watching, and comic actor Jeff Garlin takes advantage of the terrific talent he recruited for his 2007 directorial debut, a sad-sack comedy about an overweight man who feels out of step with the world around him. Familiar as Larry David's manager Jeff on "Curb Your Enthusiasm", Garlin plays James, a still-struggling, 39-year old Chicago actor who still lives with his widowed mother. His self-esteem is so low that he can't meet women, but it's the comical way he views his single status that makes his dilemma involving. If the storyline sounds a bit familiar, that's because the film is partially a tribute to the 1955 Ernest Borgnine classic, "Marty", about a lonely Bronx butcher living with his meddlesome mother. In fact, Garlin uses "Marty" as the play which James is desperate to do since he is so empathetic to the character's situation.

Naturally there is a love story of sorts in this new millennium version, and Silverman plays Beth, an off-kilter, sexually voracious ice cream parlor server who takes him on an underwear shopping spree. Their best scene together is in his favorite convenience store where they improvise different characters in different aisles. Hunt plays a lonely elementary school teacher who shares a passion with James for jazz musician Ben Webster. They meet accidentally in a record store and then again at a career day at her school where he hilariously exposes his sexual neuroses in front of a classroom of first-graders, including his best friend Luca's pert daughter Penelope (played by Dakota Fanning's look-alike baby sister Elle). In a wedged-in cameo and looking quite a bit like Jerri Blank, Sedaris plays the school's counselor who speaks to James after his inappropriate monologue. David Pasquesi plays Luca, a retirement home manager, and his scenes with Garlin have an easy rapport that makes their friendship easy to believe. Almost stealing the movie is character actress Mina Kolb, who plays James' pixilated mother with pluck and heart.

There are also unexpected cameos from teen idol Aaron Carter and Gina Gershon (don't ask…but the set-up is funny), as well as sharply played bits by director Paul Mazursky (as the snaky director of a candid-camera-type show, "Smear Job"), Tim Kazurinsky (as the unsuspecting victim of that show) and Dan Castellaneta (as the tough-love convenience store owner). With his rueful bouts of insecurity and self-loathing, Garlin's comic sensibilities resemble those of Albert Brooks, and the casual dialogue at its best reminds me of "Modern Romance" and "Defending Your Life". The one persistent problem I had with the film is pacing as some scenes dragged out longer than necessary. The problem is more evident in the first half when Garlin is trying to establish the right tempo, and the lack of real conflict adds to the sluggishness. Regardless, what he does well is capture that gnawing sense of desperation one feels upon the revelation that life is not what it is supposed to be, that a significant other may be out of reach, and that a steady diet of junk food eaten on a car hood is the only sure thing when it comes to gratification.