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I really enjoy Curb Your Enthusiasm and I usually like films that are off the wall, but I discovered why I'd never heard of CYE's veteran Jeff Garlin's flick. Because it's all cheese with nothing at all to chew on.
As writer, director and lead actor in this meandering Milk Dud, Garlin needs to bear the blame. The whole thing seems to be one long Second City improv that goes nowhere -- but not fast enough.
The premise is that 39-year-old James Aaron (Garlin) still lives with his mother in a small Chicago apartment while doing improv at The Second City and trying to get acting gigs elsewhere. He's failing at his work, has certainly failed in establishing any kind of romantic relationship, and consoles himself with food to the point of morbid obesity.
Conversations with his friend Luca (David Pasquesi) and pathetic attempts at flirting with women seem to be his main activities. He visits Luca's daughter's (Elle Fanning) grade school classroom on career day to tell the kids about his job but he makes some crude remarks that cause the teacher Stella Lewis (Bonnie Hunt) to send James to the school therapist (Amy Sedaris) where James is told that Stella is a "chubby chaser." This only causes him to flirt more with Stella.
He also engages in a strange relationship with Beth (Sarah Silverman), an ice cream shop clerk who gives him free ice cream.
I really enjoy Curb Your Enthusiasm and I usually like films that are off the wall, but I discovered why I'd never heard of CYE's veteran Jeff Garlin's flick. Because it's all cheese with nothing at all to chew on.
As writer, director and lead actor in this meandering Milk Dud, Garlin needs to bear the blame. The whole thing seems to be one long Second City improv that goes nowhere -- but not fast enough.
The premise is that 39-year-old James Aaron (Garlin) still lives with his mother in a small Chicago apartment while doing improv at The Second City and trying to get acting gigs elsewhere. He's failing at his work, has certainly failed in establishing any kind of romantic relationship, and consoles himself with food to the point of morbid obesity.
Conversations with his friend Luca (David Pasquesi) and pathetic attempts at flirting with women seem to be his main activities. He visits Luca's daughter's (Elle Fanning) grade school classroom on career day to tell the kids about his job but he makes some crude remarks that cause the teacher Stella Lewis (Bonnie Hunt) to send James to the school therapist (Amy Sedaris) where James is told that Stella is a "chubby chaser." This only causes him to flirt more with Stella.
He also engages in a strange relationship with Beth (Sarah Silverman), an ice cream shop clerk who gives him free ice cream.
The rest of the film is mostly lackluster cameo spots filled with Garlin's old Second City chums and other comic pals: Dan Castellaneta, Paul Mazursky, Tim Kazurinsky, Joey Slotnick, Richard Klein, Wallace Langham, Gina Gershon, and others.
Do yourself a favor and skip this flick in favor of a pizza or a trip to the gym.
My personal rating: D
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