In Tropic Thunder, Ben Stiller played Tugg Speedman, an action movie star who once made a serious movie called Simple Jack:
It was a good gag, poking fun at movie stars who try to gain respectability–i.e., an Academy Award–by playing a mentally handicapped character.
It’s not exactly the same thing, but I couldn’t help but think about this bit when I read about Stiller’s new movie, Greenberg. Okay, he’s not playing a blind man, but it’s close–this is Stiller in an earnest, downbeat mode.
Stiller gets serious! The New Yorker gave him a good notice, though. I liked one of director Noah Baumbach’s early movies, The Squid and the Whale, so maybe it’s not all that bad.
Then again, maybe it is. Ever see Interiors? Manage to stay awake?
Hey I liked Interiors!
and yeah I dunno about this one. I like Noah Baumbach and all ("Kicking and Screaming" should be required viewing for every recent college grad)...but the trailers make it look like its too cool for the room.
I think The Squid and the Whale was only two Baumbach movies ago, so it's pretty recent filmography-wise.
I imagine this movie is actually pretty funny, if not farcical. Squid and the Whale is pretty funny as is Margot at the Wedding. I mean they're also ****ed up but I'm saying is this movie is probably not a typical po faced Oscar grab.
LOL!
Hey, what do I know?
Yeah, man, Squid hit home for me but the last one, Margot at the Wedding? I found insufferable.
[3] I agree with you. Squid was a homerun in terms of being able to relate to the story and charcters. Margot at the Wedding was hard. Nothing was quite as bleak as Interiors. I don't think even Baumbach can accomplish that.
I'll give Greenberg a gander. I don't love love love Stiller, but I appreciate his timing. Could be interesting.
4) You are right, might be good. I just like making fun of Stiller.
[5] You know what it is, he's just not that funny. He has good facial expressions, decent timing. But, when he opens his mouth nothing that funny comes out. It's like a bait and switch.
Of couse, I did laugh out loud once in There's Something About Mary when he tried to pronounce Brett Favres name.
[5] For you, Alex, making fun of Ben Stiller: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOipHsDmNFU
I liked MArgot at the Wedding a lot. I don't think it's bleak though.
[7] I forgot about those episodes. Good stuff! Extras was clever. too bad it didn't last more than two seasons. Gervais really had it going on.
The episode(s) with Diana Rigg and Daniel Radcliffe were a scream.
Boy, have I got something for all you guys: Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer!
Yeah, the guy's never made me laugh. I think he's probably a better writer than an actor, comedy-wise. He did do a spoof on Husbands and Wives on the Ben Stiller Show, with monsters, that I remember liking.
[9] Ricky Gervais is nothing short of a sublime comic genius. Really. Dying is easy, comedy is hard. How many people out there can make me literally convulse and experience shortness of breath for laughing? Very few. George CArlin leaps to mind. Lewis Carroll, too, and Nietzsche. Gervais' secret is his blend of pathos with savage irony. He manages to rip you (me) apart by forcing me experience deep pity at the same time as deep humor. Also, he has a flair for really capturing social awkwardness in a way that makes you want to turn away at the same time you want to watch. Serious train wreck material. I gush about this guy because he really just slays me dead.
I think Extras, like The Office, was two seasons by design.
I've said it before but David Brent is an iconic, archetypal character on a par with anything in history. I think the evidence speaks for itself but I thought that before all the different versions of the show came out.
No really, I did!
[13] "Dying is easy comedy is hard". one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite movies "My Favorite Year" - Edmund Keane. I agree completely about Ricky Gervais. His ability to sadistically mock the not fully formed moral nebish always makes me squirm and leaves me gasping no matter how many times i watch the same scene. The "Office" and "Extras" are my two favorite DVD sets. If they were LP's their groves would be worn out by now.
Not all of these guys go the exploitation route in the same direction. I recall an Australian movie that I saw about thirty years ago "Tim" staring Piper Laurie and a ridiculously young Mel Gibson. Mel of course played an intellectually disabled young man named of all things - Tim. It was released in this country after the original Mad Max was released here. Mel got the order wrong; he probably should have saved that one for after the DUI.
[14] Of course I meant [12]
[14] My roommate has that movie on VHS and we watched it a couple of years ago. Agreed on both counts.
[14] It's all about the squirming. Attraction-Repulsion.