Roger Greenberg, as played by Ben Stiller, is an embodiment of the middle aged pseudo-hipster with unkempt hair and, often, a Steve Winwood shirt. He is an odd man. “Unlikeable” is the easiest way to dismiss him and, if one is so inclined, the film as a whole. The plot is a blank slate upon which complex relationship dynamics may be writ: lodging at his well-to-do brother’s Los Angeles house for six weeks while the family is on vacation, Greenberg succumbs to aimlessness having been recently released from a mental hospital. He soon meets Florence Marr (Greta Gerwig), the twenty-something personal assistant to his brother’s family, who becomes Greenberg’s romantic fling, emotional punching bag and source of wisdom. Throughout the film, Greenberg’s anger manifests itself in mannerisms: letters of complaint,…
