Andrew Boone
Noah Baumbach's second film, "Mr. Jealousy", is a like an amalgam of François Truffaut, Whit Stillman, and traditional Hollywood romantic comedy. I'm not a huge fan of Baumbach on the whole, but he's a fairly good filmmaker, and of the five films I've seen by him, he's never delivered a bad one. "Mr. Jealousy" is probably the weakest of the ones I've seen, but overall, it's still an above average film that welcomely deviates in many ways from the norms of the genre.Noah Baumbach's quirky sense of humor reminds me in that way of other contemporaneous American filmmakers like Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, and Alexander Payne. In fact, he co-wrote "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou" with Anderson. Without a doubt, though, the American filmmaker that Baumbach bears the most resemblance to is Whit Stillman. Of course, the presence of Chris Eigeman in both directors' films certainly adds to this resemblance, but it's more than just that. It's that idiosyncratic brand of humor that they share. It's their focus on youth on the verge of adulthood, or young adults on the verge of having to become real adults. Both filmmakers were clearly inspired by the French New Wave, and I've always said that Baumbach is the François Truffaut of modern American cinema, while Whit Stillman is the Eric Rohmer of modern American cinema.Truffaut's influence on Baumbach's cinema is immense. It's incredibly obvious, and like Brian De Palma with Alfred Hitchcock, he makes absolutely no attempt whatsoever to hide it. We can feel in Baumbach's films the very same carefree abandon that permeated most of Truffaut's work (apart from his stretch of films in the mid-'60s when he put a ridiculous amount of effort into imitating Hitchcock's style and tone — "The Soft Skin", "Fahrenheit 451", "The Bride Wore Black"). The quirky male protagonist (so often portrayed by Jean-Pierre Léaud in Truffaut's films) and his clumsy attempts at romance and intimacy will all be very familiar to anyone who knows the work of François Truffaut.The problem with a filmmaker being so heavily influenced by another filmmaker is that he's ultimately so busy imitating the source of his inspiration that he fails to develop any real, unique, individual identity as a filmmaker. He adopts someone else's vision of life, and therefore fails to develop his own vision. This, of course, is not entirely true of Baumbach, who certainly has his own identity as a filmmaker, to a certain extent. Still, I would much rather see him drop all the Truffaut emulation and start making films that are more his own. Truffaut's presence is felt so strongly in many of Baumbach's films that it can really be quite a distraction. "The Squid and the Whale" — especially its ending — was almost embarrassingly similar to "The 400 Blows", and although I think it was a very good film overall — probably the best I've seen by Baumbach — the lack of originality at times was off-putting. And then, of course, "Frances Ha" was a complete Truffaut ripoff (or we can be nicer about it and say "pastiche"). I'm not as big of a Truffaut fan as a lot of people to begin with, and so I'm even less enthused by a director who is attempting to emulate Truffaut. Nevertheless, as I've said, I think Baumbach is a quality filmmaker, and I'll never protest to watching one of his films if I haven't seen it."Mr. Jealousy" stars Eric Stolz, whose first non-television role was in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", and who had also shown up in Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" before taking on a role in Baumbach's debut film, "Kicking and Screaming". The female lead in the film is Annabella Sciorra, who I'm not very familiar with. Chris Eigeman costars, as does Peter Bogdanovich, who I love. Bogdanovich is a filmmaker (he directed the fantastic 1971 feature, "The Last Picture Show"), a film scholar, and a bit of an actor. Bogdanovich has taken a shine to Noah Baumbach. I'm not sure why he's picked Baumbach out of the bunch, but he's played roles in several of his films, and seems to serve as a somewhat of a mentor to him, from what I can tell. He had high praise for "Frances Ha", as I recall, and seems to be a big fan of Baumbach's work in general.The plot of "Mr. Jealousy" revolves around the relationship between a jealous man (played by Eric Stolz) and a "tarty" female (played by Annabella Sciorra) with a long list of past lovers. The film reminded me a bit of "Love & Sex", released three years later, although I think "Mr. Jealousy" is without question a better film. Both films start off with flashbacks to youthful romantic mishaps that traumatized the protagonist and led to his or her current problems with romance. "Mr. Jealousy" also reminded me somewhat of Payne's film school thesis film, "The Passion of Martin". Baumbach's film progresses with a plot line that is a bit far-fetched at times, but it's fairly entertaining all the way through, the performances are solid, and it's basically an enjoyable film.I'll continue to look for a little more substance and thematic depth from Baumbach than I've found in films like "Mr. Jealousy" or "Frances Ha" — "The Squid and the Whale" is probably closer to what I'd like to see from him. "Mr. Jealousy" plays very much like a standard romantic comedy at times, and yet, at other times, it achieves a new, fresh take on the genre and, for those who know Baumbach well enough, his hallmarks will certainly be recognizable. For fans of his films, "Mr. Jealousy" will probably be satisfactory at the very worst. On the other hand, for those who don't care for Baumbach, there's probably nothing here that's going to change your mind.RATING: 6.33 out of 10 stars
Terrell Howell (KnightsofNi11)
It seems that wit and charm are the two things that make a good romantic comedy. Mr. Jealousy possesses these two things but doesn't always use them to its advantage. The movie is Lester Grimm, played by Eric Stoltz, who has had a jealousy problem ever since he started dating. This becomes a much bigger issue when he falls in love with Ramona, a girl who has been with an abundance of other men before Lester. One of these other men is author Dashiell Frank. Concerned that that Ramona may still have feelings for Dashiell, Lester starts going to group therapy sessions with him to find out the secrets he feels are being kept from him. This creates an amusing amount of clever situations that are all humorously brought about by Lester's own jealousy.This is one of those films that isn't very consistent in its quality, but if you stick with it, everything will be worth it in the end. The movie starts off fairly shallow and cliché. We meet our protagonist, Lester, and learn about his past dating experiences. We learn things that aren't surprising and are to be expected from this kind of film. Lester's not a hunk, but he's not a loser either. He's just a typical guy who has gone through pretty typical things. After a brief history of his character we meet the supporting cast, including Lester's girlfriend Ramona. Things develop in a typical manner and the film tries a little too hard to be a quirky comedy. There are specific cuts and quirky editing techniques all placed throughout for comedic effect, but not to much avail. It's amusing, but nothing special.The film really starts to get good when the plot thickens and the growing situation comedy aspect starts to bloom into something very entertaining. It starts with the group therapy sessions, which become the backbone of the story's progression, and the way these situations unfold are very entertaining. I think somewhere along the line Noah Baumbach, writer and director, realized that the comedy of this film comes from the clever wit the story's progression bares, rather than a bunch of sporadically placed and forced jokes. Towards the middle of the film I stopped regretting watching this movie and actually became engaged. The film also realized that the quirky style it had tried so desperately to make work in the beginning hadn't really gone anywhere, so it abandoned that and things greatly improved.And luckily the ending of the film doesn't disappoint. It doesn't wow you and it isn't terribly unexpected. It isn't the typical idealized romantic comedy ending. It is more realistic and bittersweet. When you break it down you can find some areas for improvement and I'm not saying the ending is perfect. But it fits and it isn't disappointing. It is basically what you would expect. It meets the same tone that most of the film has had, wrapping up the story nicely and making Mr. Jealousy a worthwhile watch.I didn't expect much from this film, and I after I started watching it I really felt like this was going to be an hour and forty minutes I would never get back. But as things move along the film gets much better. It isn't laugh out loud funny, but it is amusing and it is clever. Mr. Jealousy is nothing special, but it isn't a bad movie at all. It is a film that enjoys itself, with likable characters and very entertaining situations. I wouldn't watch it again, but I have no regrets.
weirdodan
Aside from a thoroughly misrepresentative title, "Mr. Jealousy" is actually quite entertaining. With good acting, a good story, and the brand of direction one only gets from the writer, the film is a genuinely charming romantic comedy. The humor is subtle and the dialogue poetic, but if you like that kind of thing (think "Royal Tenenbaums" meets "Kissing Jessica Stein," with most emphasis on the Stein) you should rent it. It's esoteric, but if you get it you'll like it.
shark-43
The thing this film has going for it is a great hook - the main plot has such a smart take (SPOiler ****** SPOILER **** SPOILER)ON the whole group therapy scene and how the lead character uses it to keep tabs on an ex-boyfriend of his current girlfriend (who he is very jealous about). Eric Stoltz (who is capable of good work: Mask, Pulp Fiction and lame, sleepwalking work: Killing Zoe, many others) is strong in the title role and gets great support from the rest of the cast especially from Chris Eigeman who gives a three dimensional performance as the successful writer/ex-boyfriend. Smartly written, my only problem with the film is the unfocused, rambling beginning. The movie doesnt really click until the first therapy session - then it just keeps rolling along into uncomfortable, delightful comedy.
