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Roger The Grouch

"Life is wasted on people," mumbles the lead character in Noah Baumbach's happy-go-lucky new comedy "Greenberg." As a 40-year-old carpenter who spent some time in a mental hospital and is now "trying to do nothing for a while," Roger (Ben Stiller) is what many would correctly deem a mess. He's aimless, groundless and randomly unpleasant, which describes the film as well.

With his brother (Chris Messina) on a family vacation in Vietnam, Roger crashes at his luxe house in L.A. It's there he meets Florence (Greta Gerwig), a mid-20s blonde assistant who means well but frequently says the wrong thing. While she is clueless in only self-harming ways, he seems to revel in hurting those around him, including his kind best friend (Rhys Ifan). Roger and Florence scream "mismatch" and it's hard to figure out exactly what she sees in him, similar to the lead pair of "Eagle Vs. Shark." Plenty of fish in the sea, honey, and they're not all piranhas.

Stiller embraces a more low-key type of comedy in "Greenberg" than his usual, arm-flailing shenanigans, and even when he's pissed off, he is still less spastic than usual. His portrayal of Roger stems from a place of raw pain that he generally avoids like quality scripts -- and watching him scribble hate mail to American Airlines and Starbucks is pretty amusing. But the heart of the movie belongs to Gerwig ("Baghead"), who you can't help but love for all her insecurities and dorkiness. She prances around in a white T-shirt that says "Henry's Tacos"; sings, unconfidently, at a local café; and says things like "Nobody cares if I wake up in the morning" before making out with a guy at a part. Also, Baumbach seems particularly taken with the right side of her face, which is spotlighted during her many car rides.

People who aren't impressed by Baumbach will find little to enjoy here: the plot is familiar and, like all of his movies, there is a narcissistic cad or two on display. But for fans, "Greenberg" is full of the uncomfortable, darkly funny moments that made "The Squid and the Whale" so memorable. No, this film isn't nearly on par with that, nor was "Margot at the Wedding," but even Baumbach-lite is better than most of the crud dropped in theaters this time of year. If you disagree, well, have a blast at "The Bounty Hunter."