(2010) Conscientious, generous with her time, reliable, apologetic, Florence Marr (Greta Gerwig) is the 26-year-old personal assistant for Phillip Greenberg, running errands and taking care of the family's German shepherd Mahler. Leaving for a visit of several weeks in Vietnam with his wife and two kids, Phillip tells her to expect his brother Roger (Ben Stiller) from New York to be staying in the house.

Recently released from an asylum, following a nervous breakdown, Roger, a carpenter by trade, comes to housesit and build a dog house. During his stay, angry about the world he inhabits, Roger composes letters of complaint to the airline, The New York Times, Starbucks, and Hollywood Pet Taxi; he looks up old friends to catch up on the 15 years he's been away from LA. "I'm really trying to do nothing right now," he explains when asked what he's doing.

Throughout much of this seemingly depressing domestic drama from writer/director Noah Baumbach a viewer could be forgiven for giving up hope of seeing a comedy; there's little to laugh about, unless you're hurting inside, when "Hurt people hurt people."

In college he had been in a band with British-born Ivan Schrank (Rhys Ifans) - his best friend, who's trying to be a good father to his eight-year-old son Victor while separated from his wife Fabula, says he no longer has time for music with his job repairing computers - and Eric Beller (Mark Duplass), who still resents Roger's having been the cause of losing a record deal and the breakup of the band. His former girlfriend Beth (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a single mother with two kids, declines a date offer. Everyone's living the life one didn't plan on having.

Ever since having moved to the East Coast Roger hasn't driven a car; he relies on Florence for company and transportation when Mahler has to be taken to the vet, but then despises himself for becoming dependent on her for favors (taking advantage of his brother's employee), including sex. Vulnerable following the end of a lengthy relationship, she's available.

She invites him to her open-mic singing performance; he asks her to join him and Ivan in a quiet celebration of his 41st birthday in a restaurant - until the wait staff croons "Happy Birthday," which enrages Roger.

He's asocially honest, openly expressive of his opinions without regard to the effect on others; he has to make an effort to be polite and nice. Florence takes this in stride - "Do you think you could love me?" - until Roger freaks out, abusively reacting to an inane story she relates about herself.

Disappointed with the cohorts of his own generation, Roger during a party in his brother's house, involving booze and drugs that provide libation and liberation, tries to connect with members of the younger generation, impulsively deciding the next day to join Sara and Muriel on a ride to the airport for a flight to Australia before realizing his mistake, or as Florence, needing a ride (Ivan drives) to a clinic for D&C, tells him: "You like me so much more than you think you do."

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Copyright © 2010 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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