By Peter Covino
Entertainment Editor

See Ben Stiller naked.
No, I don’t mean unclothed, though he does have a sexual relationship in Greenberg, but his latest film does give us more than a glimpse of Ben Stiller, the actor, laid bare.

There are no silly costumes here, nor any Avatar makeup. Stiller has finally decided to take a serious acting stand in this film about a 40-year-old man who is seeking a bit of peace after having a mental breakdown.

Perhaps, for the first time in any Stiller movie, you may not even like his character — Roger Greenberg, a former musician, who has managed to alienate most of the people he was close to in the 1990s.

After the breakdown, Greenberg moves into his brother’s upper middle class hillside home in Los Angeles. His brother and family are on vacation in Vietnam. Greenberg seems to spend most of his time writing fairly innocuous letters to corporations who have gotten on that raw nerve of his yet again.
When he encounters any kind of problem, which seems to be often, he calls on his brother’s personal assistant, Florence (Greta Gerwig), a woman 15 years his junior. It isn’t long (within hours of their first meeting) before the pair have an on again, off again affair. It seems to be a very ill-advised relationship.

Greenberg doesn’t fare much better with his friends either. Greenberg doesn’t seem to like himself very much so he doesn’t like the people he associates with very much.
If you have seen director Noah Baumbach’s The Squid and the Whale, Greenberg’s overall disagreeable character won’t come as too much of a surprise, though The Squid and the Whale, about an intellectual couple’s disintegrating marriage in New York City and its effect on their children, has many more laughs.

It’s not that Greenberg doesn’t have his good side. He genuinely cares when the family dog, one of the few responsibilities he has at the house, falls ill. After a visit to the vet, he makes sure both he and Mahler (the dog) take their meds. And when an impromptu party happens at the house, he is constantly stopping the guests from giving Mahler pizza, beer and other party favors, which are not part of his strict diet.

Mostly though, there is a lot of sorrow surrounding Greenberg — he is back in Los Angeles surrounded by failed friendships and relationships, and his attempts at rekindling those relationships just result in more failure.

Fans expecting the usual silly stuff from Stiller are probably better off not seeing Greenberg. This kind of film usually has limited appeal. But if you are looking for some outstanding performances (Gerwig also is excellent) and intelligent dialogue, Greenberg is most definitely worth a look.

Critic's rating: B

 Greenberg is rated R

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The Orlando Film Festival, Florida Film Festival, Enzian Theater and the Orange County Regional History Center present Movie Night Downtown. The second in the series of Orlando events will be held Sunday, April 11 at the Walt Disney World Amphitheatre beginning at 7:45 p.m. The April free film is Cocoon.
There will also be a pre-cinema performance by the Sak Comedy Club.
Takeout food will be available at area downtown restaurants.