...it was sad to realize how little use Hollywood makes of Ben Stiller's actual talent. As funny as he is in the Fockers' movies and such, he's much better at evoking a melancholic asshole-ness that pisses you off and makes you go "aww", like he does in this movie.
It helps that Noah Baumbach is a great writer (although some bits were too "look at how indie I am") but the show does belong to Stiller.
He's less Margot and more what Frank Berkman (from The Squid and the Whale) would've grown up to be like.
11 comments:
I love it when Stiller takes time out of his goofy mainstream comedies to prove he can do more than slapstick. Though I felt that Greta Gerwig stole the movie from him.
True, true there were some moments that were just too "indie" but in the end it was wholly satisfying - though in the end I was most interested in Rhys Ifans.
I want to see this movie desperatly. I love Stiller when he actually acts. Yours Friends and Neighbours is one of my favourites and Permanent Midnight is only okay but Stiller is great in it. I also really liked him in Flirting with Disaster which may be his best mainstream comedy.
Jason and Andrew: interesting how you both thought someone else stole the show...
Mike: I agree with you, he is much better when he's in adult movies than most of the crap they make him do.
Glad you liked the film and performance on the whole.
I would agree sometimes Baumbach goes a little OTT but at least he's stretching, plus there's something in his writing which reasonates.
I do love Stiller here though. The ensemble throughout is quite good, which is a bit underused because there are so many scenes with just two characters.
I'd agree Andrew - although for me the Jennifer Jason Leigh scenes didn't quite work as well as they should have done. I got what she and Baumbach were aiming for with her character but for whatever reason, it was missing something.
Hmmm... I don't think I've had the privilege of seeing Stiller actually stretch himself beyond intentional dumbass or Greg Focker. Could be interesting. Though the comparison to Squid and the Whale makes me nervous - that movie is the reason I'm still very tentative about the quality of The Social Network due to its star...
Burning Reels: I did enjoy it a lot and I also felt they could've done much more with Jennifer's character. After all she was a screenwriter in this too.
Andrew: I agree. It left me wishing I could've seen more of some actors but I guess it was devised as the Ben Stiller show.
Luke: You didn't like the kid?
I very much agreed with Andrew and Burning Reels..I love seeing Stiller..He is the great actor of Hollywood Industry..And I did enjoy it a lot.
I couldn't agree with you more. I think Stiller has a very potent dramatic talent. I'll be seeing "Permanent Midnight" very soon.
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