Trailer Tuesday

It's getting harder and harder to find a trailer that doesn't bore me to tears. I had to go all the way back for a trailer that was released to little fanfare back in November, but I'm glad I dug deep. As I've mentioned here on several occasions, Kicking and Screaming is my all-time favorite movie. Written and directed by Brooklyn-born Noah Baumbach at the age of 26, his debut film remains his best, most balanced, most engaging work to date. His more recent films have not been without success, however. He scored an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay for his 2005 movie The Squid and the Whale, and he's certainly deserving of another nomination this year as co-writer with Wes Anderson for the adaptation of Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Baumbach returns to the director's chair for his newest movie---Greenberg. Starring Ben Stiller in what, thankfully, appears to be a restrained role, the title character is "a dysfunctional 40-year-old at a crossroads in his life who wants to do nothing for awhile." They had me at dysfunctional. The preview is a bit difficult to get a handle on, but then so is most of what Baumbach writes. One thing you can expect is smart, witty dialogue...and some of that is on display here. There's also going to be a great soundtrack...and that, too, is key for this trailer. One interesting note to keep in mind while watching this is that Mark Ruffalo and Amy Adams were originally cast as the two leads. I like Stiller, and this Greta Gerwig seems good, too, but wow...Ruffalo and Adams seem better for this film, no? In any case, this is Greenberg...and is hopefully not me in four years.