- published: 28 Nov 2009
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Greenberg is a 2010 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Noah Baumbach. The film stars Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig, Rhys Ifans and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Greenberg is produced by Focus Features and Scott Rudin Productions, and distributed by Focus Features.
The film's soundtrack features the first film score by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem and DFA Records fame.
Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) is a forty year old carpenter (and former musician) living in New York. He recently suffered a nervous breakdown, and after deciding to do nothing but relax, he flies out to Los Angeles in order to take care of his brother's dog for a few weeks. While there, he meets his brother's personal assistant Florence Marr (Greta Gerwig), and the two of them struggle with the idea of starting a relationship in this romantic dramedy.
Greenberg garnered generally positive critical reception. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 75% of the critics have given the film positive reviews; the film has been "Certified Fresh." Another review aggregator, Metacritic, assigned the film a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on 38 reviews from mainstream critics. The film was given a 3 star rating (out of 4 stars) by Peter Travers of Rolling Stone magazine. Travers writes, "Writer-director Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale) walks the fragile line between humor and heartbreak...Even when you laugh, like in the climactic party scene, it hurts."Roger Ebert gave the film 3 and 1/2 stars (out of four).