Greenberg - Directed by Noah Baumbach

Stiller’s Greenberg is an awkward, snobby, socially deficient shell of a man looking to pick his life up and start all over again. When he “house-sits” for his brother and his family when they are on vacation, he ends up falling for his brother’s assistant Florence Marr (played with more fantastic awkwardness by Great Gerwig). What ensues is the farthest thing from your average romantic comedy, and from your average Ben Stiller comedy. Greenberg is charming and distasteful all at once, and his back-and-forth relationship with Florence is one we can only halfheartedly cheer for, as we’re not sure whether they should even end up together. Uncomfortable scenes of dialogue and oral sex punctuate an overall theme of isolation and purpose. Both Greenberg and Florence just want to find their places in the world, and with any luck, share that place with someone else. All of this culminates in one of the most memorable and emotional final shots of any film in 2010. Intelligent and charming, Greenberg is one of the funniest and most heartfelt movies of the year.