MovieChat Forums > Mr. Jealousy (1998) Discussion > I liked it

I liked it

posted 17 years ago by bad_vuggum
6 replies | jump to latest

I liked this film. What do others think?

Mr. Jealousy is probably Noah Baumbach's slightest, weakest film because it doesn't seem to possess his usual high flair and confidence, or the originality that marks his best work (Kicking and Screaming, The Squid and the Whale). But it's still a cut above most other romantic screwball comedies of the 90s. It is clever, charming, warm and funny, and as per usual with Baumbach the script has some crackling dialogue. Eric Stoltz and Annabella Sciorra were both great, and I enjoyed the cameo apperances by Bridget Fonda and Peter Bogdanovich.

Opinions?

[–] schwinginbatman 17 years ago

Personally, I thought the movie was funnier than Kicking and Screaming and the acting was better, felt more natural. I also think that even though it is in a long list of "romantic screwball comedies" of the 90s, I think it's the most original of them. I think I like it more than Kicking and Screaming.

[–] freudified_n_funkified 17 years ago

I also prefer it to KICKING AND SCREAMING, but by a hair. It's like a weird mash-up of Woody Allen and Francois Truffaut and it works throughout. I think it's a much more focused effort than KICKING AND SCREAMING and it signals the beginnings of a filmmaking style that would reach a kind of fruition with THE SQUID & THE WHALE.

Judging from the trailers, MARGOT AT THE WEDDING looks like yet another evolution/extrapolation of the direction he began with MR. JEALOUSY - kind of a GenX nouvelle vague - although MARGOT looks more Rohmer-influenced than Truffaut, but who knows?

I wish that, like Woody Allen, Baumbach could make a film a year. He's been directing for 12 years and by the end of this year will only have five films out. It only took a decade for him to get any kind of real momentum. Better late than never, I guess.

[–] bad_vuggum 17 years ago

I'm pleasantly surprised that Mr. Jealousy has a few other admirers out there besides myself. Also pleasantly surprised that some even preferred it to Kicking and Screaming.

You're right IBH about his painstakingly slow workrate. I also wish he was a lot more prolific. I'm guessing he writes his screenplays slowly, because shooting these low-budget indies can't take too long. Having said that, Margot at the Wedding was shot between April-June 2006, spent several months in pre-production and has been held back by Paramount Vantage until November to qualify for Oscar consideration (in the meantime it will play the Toronto Film Festival in September). I am really looking forward to Margot at the Wedding and yeah, from the trailer (which looks excellent btw) I could see the ghosts of both Eric Rohmer and François Truffaut in the mix this time. Also, I love Baumbach's wife Jennifer Jason Leigh and can't wait to see what she does in this film.

[–] freudified_n_funkified 17 years ago

I'm sure it's not by choice that Baumbach works so infrequently. Financing is hard to come by, especially for movies deemed so cerebral by today's standards. It seems like what really got his career moving was the Oscar nomination for writing Squid and the Whale. He got on the radar.

[–] rocket470 8 years ago

Replying to a 8+ year old thread - yippee!

Just watched the film, and I really really enjoyed it. I've been on a Baumbach tear of late, looking for inspiration/education for my own writing and life. I believe I saw Greenberg when it came out (thought it was great), same with Frances Ha (alright.) I was drawn to Baumbach's dialogue, observations of people, and of course, neurotic New York types that speaks to me personally. So I've gone back and seen everything except the one in the late 90's he has disavowed. Felt Mr. Jealousy is easily one of the strongest - better than Kicking and Screaming, I'd say. It was nice seeing the "Baumbach Set" back in new roles - Eric Stoltz, Chris Eigeman, Carlos Jacott. As someone under 30, I was surprised that these guys haven't been too popular in the aughts - a shame.

I think I'd group Greenberg, Kicking and Screaming, and Mr. Jealousy in this filmmakers top tier. While We're Young and the Squid and the Whale a notch below, and then Margot, Frances, and Mistress America at the bottom. I miss his "youth"-ful ambition, I suppose.

[–] Howlin Wolf 8 years ago

The narrator was beyond annoying - show, don't tell! It's forgiveable if the narrator is there to establish proceedings, or is in fact the main character commenting on his own actions, but neither of those functions were in use, here... If you can't create interest in a character without telling us what he's thinking, your premise doesn't work for me.

Far too smug; my opinion is that Baumbach has done much better work, and it's a shame, because I liked Stoltz and Sciorra together.

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