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Greenberg (2010)

6.1
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Ratings: 6.1/10 from 20,074 users   Metascore: 76/100
Reviews: 132 user | 227 critic | 39 from Metacritic.com

A man from Los Angeles, who moved to New York years ago, returns to L.A. to figure out his life while he house-sits for his brother. He soon sparks with his brother's assistant.

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Title: Greenberg (2010)

Greenberg (2010) on IMDb 6.1/10

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Greenberg Boy
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Greenberg Girl
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Emily Lacy ...
Gallery Band Member
Aaron Wrinkle ...
Gallery Band Member
Heather Lockie ...
Gallery Band Member
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Guy at Gallery
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Zach Chassler ...
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Blair Tefkin ...
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Storyline

We like Florence: she's considerate, sweet, pretty, and terrific with kids and dogs. She's twenty-five, personal assistant to an L.A. family that's off on vacation. Her boss's brother comes in from New York City, fresh from a stay at an asylum, to take care of the house. He's Roger, a forty-year-old carpenter, gone from L.A. for fifteen years. He arrives, doesn't drive, and needs Florence's help, especially with the family's dog. He's also connecting with former band-mates - two men and one woman with whom he has a history. He over-analyzes, has a short fuse, and doesn't laugh at himself easily. As he navigates past and present, he's his own saboteur. And what of Florence? is Roger one more responsibility for her or something else? Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

He's got a lot on his mind.

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong sexuality, drug use, and language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Official Sites:

|

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

1 April 2010 (Germany)  »

Also Known As:

Den skeftomai, ara yparho  »

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£118,804 (UK) (11 June 2010)

Gross:

£283,806 (UK) (18 June 2010)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

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Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

A poster of the band Prinzhorn Dance School can be seen on the wall where Greenberg hangs the drawing made by Florence' niece. It's a reference to LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy, who was responsible for the soundtrack. Murphy is the boss of the DFA record label, who released the 'Prinzhorn Dance School' album. See more »

Goofs

In the scene where he leaves the message for Florence, squatting on the bed, Greenberg's socks change from black with characters running round the cuffs to gray dress socks when he removes his boots. See more »

Quotes

Roger Greenberg: The thing about you kids is that you're all kind of insensitive. I'm glad I grew up when I did cos your parents were too perfect at parenting- all that baby Mozart and Dan Zanes songs; you're just so sincere and interested in things! There's a confidence in you guys that's horrifying. You're all ADD and carpal tunnel. You wouldn't know Agoraphobia if it bit you in the ass, and it makes you mean. You say things to someone like me who's older and smarter with this light air... I'm freaked out by ...
See more »

Connections

References The Wild One (1953) See more »

Soundtracks

"Gente"
Written by James Murphy and Al Doyle
Produced by James Murphy
Performed by James Murphy and Al Doyle
Courtesy of DFA Records/EMI Records Ltd.
James Murphy appears courtesy of DFA Records/EMI Records Ltd.
Al Doyle appears courtesy of EMI Records Ltd.
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Brilliant, Heartwarming Character Study That's Not For Everybody
1 April 2010 | by (Watertown, Mass.) – See all my reviews

... (which, if you've read the other reviews here, you know is a massive understatement).

Let's start with the two obvious stumbling blocks to loving this rather astonishingly good and (for some) altogether life-affirming and lovable movie.

-- The main character is pretty much a jerk.

-- There's no plot.

Now, realize: the main character is *supposed* to be unlikeable. And the movie does not try to have a plot. And you might wonder, how can a movie that starts with these two conditions possibly be any good, let alone some be some kind of masterpiece? So let me explain.

Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller in the performance of his life) is by no means completely unlikeable. He's quite funny, an adept verbal wit (there is no situational comedy in this movie at all; it's funny in places because Greenberg is often funny). He has very firm and uncompromising moral ideals. He cares deeply and responsibly for animals. What makes him unlikeable is that he sometimes, unexpectedly, treats people, especially people he cares for, like crap -- he uses that verbal wit like a blunt knife and goes on unwarranted tirades. And he has almost no insight into himself (occasionally the movie is very funny at his expense.) You know that guy in your family who is fundamentally, deep down, a very good person, but is all too often an incredible pain and aggravation to be with? That's Greenberg. He is, in short, the sort of person who is much easier to love than to like.

We are told from the outset that he has, in fact, just been released from a mental institution, and this is one of the least clichéd and most fully-rounded portraits of a seriously mentally ill person in recent cinema. We watch as he works really, really hard to sabotage any hope he has for a happy life.

He meets and is immediately smitten with a woman (played terrifically by Greta Gerwig; it's nearly as much her story as his) who has her own set of neuroses, but ones that are much more ordinary than his. We watch their relationship play out over a few months exactly as it might in real life, without any set of causally related events to provide an engine of plot.

So what narrative tension is there? Why keep watching? Very simply, if you like Roger Greenberg enough to have empathy and sympathy for his plight, if you can see past the sarcastic surface to the deep pain underneath, if you can recognize a little bit of yourself in him, then you are going to root for him to get his act together, to cut all that nonsense out, to start to understand himself --in short, to start to recover some sanity, to find the first cobblestones of the path to some kind of happiness.

Well, that's what happens, and it's wonderful to watch. (That it's possible to watch the movie and not notice it happening is obvious from some of the reviews here, including one that criticized the ending as incomplete; in fact, this may have the best and most perfect last line of any movie I can think of.)

If you didn't much like _Sideways_ or _Up in the Air_, I can guarantee that you will hate _Greenberg_ (I mean, imagine those movies, but with no plot, too!). If you loved those movies -- if you have no problem watching emotionally stunted people slowly grow up -- then you'll probably love this, too, and you may even love the way that the lack of conventional plot makes the movie completely realistic and hence especially powerful emotionally. I can't wait to see it again and I suspect I'll watch it many times.


101 of 141 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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A lot of people really don't 'get it'... chaosclockswatermelons
Do older people like this film... eye_spy_on_you
I didn't like this movie so I didn't 'get it'? Please. DoubleDeuce
I went to summer camp with Ben and my last name is Greenberg ddjgg123
Greenberg's Rant at the Party proppanuts
Did they write this flick about me? So thought-provoking. rufusjonz
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