Arnon Grunberg

Psychiatric ward

Tennis teacher

I never liked Noah Baumbach’s movies very much. “The Squid and the Whale” was okay, but not much more than that.
(In a blog written for WWB I wrote something about this movie: “Thank god ‘The Squid and the Whale’ teaches us a few lessons: If you are an author, never fall in love with another author.
Go for the tennis teacher.
Tennis teachers seem to be more decent humans beings than authors, they seem to be less obsessed with finding a parking spot. They don’t tend to spoil conversation with remarks about a “minor Dickens.” And they actually can play tennis.”)

“Margot at the Wedding” was slightly less okay.

And now there is “Greenberg”.

There is a great sex scene in “Greenberg” which makes the movie worth your while. But that’s about it.

It’s not that Greenberg, played by Ben Stiller, is an unsympathetic character. I have nothing against unsympathetic characters. It’s that his psychiatrist gave him the wrong medication.
According to the movie Mr. Greenberg left the psychiatric ward of some hospital in New York shortly before he shows up at his brother’s in LA. Well, they should have kept him in the hospital a bit longer.

But there is also Florence, played by Greta Gerwig, with whom Mr. Greenberg doesn’t fall in love – she is a revelation.

I’m totally in love with Greta Gerwig. But I’m not going to call her. She can text me or send me an e-mail.