Ben Stiller and Greta Gerwig attend the "Greenberg" Los Angeles after party at ArcLight Cinemas on March 18, 2010 in Hollywood.CBSRedCarpet on CBS EyeMobile.com's coverage of the red carpet premiere of the dark comedy "Greenberg" starring Ben Stiller at the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood on 3/18/10. Stars Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig, Rhys Ifans & Brie Larson stop by the CBSRedCarpet mic to talk about Stiller's "Greenberg" character and how people like him are a constant mainstay in everyday Los Angeles. "Greenberg" from Focus Features in theaters 3/26/10.
Ben Stiller talks about his role in "Greenberg".
"Stiller plays the title character, Roger Greenberg, although the movie begins by focusing on another character. Florence Marr (Gerwig) works as a personal assistant to hotel developer Philip Greenberg and his family living in suburban LA. They're traveling abroad for awhile and ask her to keep an eye on their dog Mahler and their house, even though Philip's brother Roger will be staying there while they're gone.
I found myself drawn into Greenberg. At times it seems terribly personal and intimate, those small awkward moments where you can't help but feel for these people, no matter how obnoxious or off-putting they may be. Roger attempts oral sex on Florence and flings himself at her almost desperately, as if he's trying to burrow back into the womb. 
Greta Gerwig plays Florence Marr in "Greenberg".Florence is so self-effacing that she can't even remind Philip to pay her, and tries to downplay it when he realizes he's forgotten, despite the fact that she's obviously low on funds.
At a party Philip's teenage daughter throws at the house, Roger is the middle-aged guy trying to talk to the kids and coming off in a "you kids get off my lawn" way.
Ben Stiller is perfect for this role -- oddly enough, he looks like an
Ben Stiller - Poster of "Greenberg"
Jesse Eisenberg in "Adventureland"older Jesse Eisenberg at some angles, making me wonder if this is what would happen to Eisenberg's character in The Squid and the Whale as he started to approach middle age. Gerwig's character is more complex and mature than the Manic Pixie Dream Girl characters she's played in the films I mentioned above -- Florence is no rocket scientist, but she seems like a real person". Source: www.slackerwood.com
Actress Greta Gerwig appears at the Apple Store Soho - Meet the Actors series on March 23, 2010 in New York City."Florence is 25 and adrift in her life; she semi-aspires to be a singer, but she's terrible at it, and her love life consists of impromptu sex with any guy who won't run away. ("I'm wearing kind of an ugly bra," she warns, when Roger inevitably takes his shot.) She's a schlumpy, disheveled mess, and Gerwig — the mumblecore queen, here radiating a unique star quality — makes her enormously endearing.
Although Roger is a complete misanthrope ("Life is wasted on people"), some of his many peculiarities are inventively amusing. His attempt to throw a house party is predictably disastrous, in part because the finger foods he chooses to serve are Creamsicles and guacamole. And we know his attendance at another party — this one filled with 20-something drug enthusiasts — is doomed to go downhill when he inquires, "Is it okay to mix coke and Zoloft?" Source: www.mtv.com