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Written by: Alanna McGuiggan
Looking for some entertainment over Spring Break? Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg, starring Ben Stiller, is the perfect movie to end your vacation week. Opening on March 12, 2010, this film is the story of a middle-aged, single man named Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) who is on a search for true happiness during a crossroads in his life.
In this film, Greenberg finds himself spending six weeks in Los Angeles house-sitting for his brother, a married father who has attained far more success than Roger himself. While in Los Angeles, Greenberg tries to reconnect with old friends, such as his former bandmate Ivan (Rhys Ifans).
Sadly, however, Greenberg finds that they have moved on with their lives, and he thus spends an increasing amount of time with Florence (Greta Gerwig), his brother’s personal assistant who is similar to Roger in that she is sort of a lost soul. Greenberg’s connection to Florence makes him realize that he may have found a true reason to be happy.
According to Ben Stiller, Greenberg is unique in its approach to comedy; though this film certainly has a humorous component, it is more authentically portrayed than other films as a result of the sincere and highly relevant story of Roger Greenberg’s struggle with aging. This aspect of the film sets it apart from some of Stiller’s most famous works, such as Meet the Parents and Zoolander.
Stiller noted that Greenberg director Noah Baumbach approaches movies in a different way, resulting in the dedication of those contributing to every aspect of the film. Stiller said, “Everyone was there because they wanted to be there, so the film had a much warmer, intimate feeling.”
As one of today’s most popular comedic actors, Ben Stiller was chosen by Baumbach for the role of Roger Greenberg because of his incredible sense of humor. Baumach noted that the more genuinely the movie’s main character was portrayed, the funnier the film would be.
When asked to explain why he agreed to take on this character, Stiller noted that “I think there are like four, five filmmakers that you get a call to act for them and you say yes no matter what it is. Noah is definitely one of those guys for me. I think I was lucky that why he was calling me was something I was excited about, too.”
He went on to say, “We talked in the beginning about the age of the character and what he was going through, that it was a chance to work on something that was really about the character and goes that deep, and the specificity of the writing was something I was very excited about.”
Another unique aspect of this film is its musical composition, which was developed by James Murphy of the band LCD Soundsystem. According to Baumbach, the goal was to make music that stayed true to the characters of Greenberg while still coming from Murphy’s personal standpoint. According to Murphy, he didn’t try to make a soundtrack that accented the characters’ emotions; since the actors were already doing an excellent job, instead he tried to compose songs that would effectively work as a backdrop for the plot of the film.
While director Noah Baumbach and part producer Jennifer Jason Leigh were responsible for the development of the script and the directing of the film, Baumbach noted that the transformation of main character Roger Greenberg was largely the result of a collaboration between himself and Ben Stiller.
Baumbach noted that “I think part of my job is being open to how it [the film] transforms and what other people bring as it transforms.” In Baumbach’s opinion, Greenberg is the product of everyone who contributed to it, from actor Ben Stiller to James Murphy.
If you have any free time this Spring Break, check out Greenberg. With the talented combination of Ben Stiller, director Noah Baumbach and the musically gifted James Murphy, this story about an actively passive man finding meaning in life is sure to provide a relaxing dose of humor and sincerity.
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