First off let me set the record straight.I have no problem with this genre of movie, and I much prefer a movie to be dialogue driven rather than hi-octane fast cars driven, if you get my drift. I loved Nebraska, Sideways, Safety Not Guaranteed etc. so I'm partial to a bit of clever, whimsical dialogue. In fact, the film I saw before this was Last Chance Harvey, and before that, The Grand Seduction, both entirely dialogue driven and both of which I enjoyed.Neither have I a problem with Ben Stiller. Yes I liked There's Something About Mary and The Heartbreak Kid, but enjoyed even more his change of direction for the excellent The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Another reviewer pointed out that Ben Stiller's departure from the norm in this movie was similar to Adam Sandler's in Punch Drunk Love. No it wasn't. Punch Drunk Love was a quirky, jarring movie which was enjoyable.Greenberg is vapid, pretentious, and a stinker. The dialogue is terrible, the contrived situations are embarrassing, the story-line must have been written on the back of a matchbox, the acting is poor. In fact, to me the actors actually look embarrassed by the script, and have a look in their eyes that's saying "what the hell have I got myself into, and how will this affect my career".Is the movie that bad? No, it's actually worse, a lot worse.Before finishing this review I looked up the director. Noah Baumbach... never heard of him. So I said to myself, how did someone who oversaw such pretentious rubbish ever come to get a job directing films? Then I noticed that mummy and daddy are both film critics...ah, so now I know. Somehow that old adage "It's not what you know, but who you know" springs to mind. If you respect your brain cells, and appreciate the fact that 90 minutes of your time is actually a valuable asset, then give this movie a wide berth. You have been warned.

Florence Marr (Greta Gerwig) is the Greenberg family nanny in L.A. The family goes on a trip while the brother Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) drops by to housesit. She's young trying to find her way. He's a New Yorker misanthrope just out of an insane asylum. He doesn't drive and writes complaint letters. His friend Ivan Schrank (Rhys Ifans) pushes him to go to Eric Beller (Mark Duplass)'s barbecue where he runs into ex-girlfriend Beth (Jennifer Jason Leigh) with her kids. Roger, Eric and Ivan were once in a band but Roger refused to sign a recording deal. Florence and Roger have an on-and-off relationship.Ben Stiller is going too dark. It's a matter of slight miscalibration. This could be a great indie rom-com but I can't find any likability to Roger. His dialog could have some sharp sarcastic jokes to take off the edge. I need to laugh with him but his dark depressed nature keeps getting into the way. Getting angry over his birthday is probably the only laughable moment although saying Florence's emotional story is pointless gets a small chuckle. His anger needs to have more comedy as an outlet and to balance his dark side. It has some good moments but it could have been better.

How on earth people would put this together, look at it, and then say "Yes, let's release it with our name on it" is beyond me. Unlikable characters doing unbelievable things (what 25 year old would even look at an ugly-mannered, mean-spirited, nasty 41 year old? Self destructive is one thing, but this is just horrible to watch. I'm sick and tired of so- called indy movies following the Hollywood line of all the old guys get the young chicks, no question. Ivan and the main girl's friend are the only believable characters in the movie and I'm sad I wasted an evening on it. The cover said "Stunning" - sure, if they mean "to render senseless. There are much better movies covering the same themes.

"Hurt people hurt people" mid-20s Florence Marr (Greta Gerwig) tells 40-ish Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) in this quirky movie with a lot of psychological hurt although not without whimsical humour. Florence has just come out of a relationship and is struggling to become a ballad singer, while suddenly finding a personal problem she never expected. Roger has just emerged from a breakdown, having long ago blown has chance of a career as a rock musician, along the way breaking relationships with his wife and fellow band members. The unlikely pairing comes about when Florence, a home help to a wealthy Los Angeles family, finds herself in the company of Roger who is house-sitting while the family is abroad. This was probably supposed to be Stiller's movie and it is a rare pleasure to see him in a non-comic role. But in reality this is Gerwig's film - she is so natural and engaging.There is probably an element of autobiography here - although we don't know how much - because director Noah Baumbach co-wrote the script with his wife Jennifer Jason Leigh (who has a small role as Greenberg's ex wife). Like Greenberg's life (he tells people, that he is trying to "do nothing"), the film has no plot and no resolution with a sudden and very open ending but, in the same way that Florence tells Roger "You like me more than you think you do", perhaps you'll like the movie more than you think you will.