By Sheri Linden
Fri Jul 7, 10:29 PM ET
In his first feature as writer-director, "Curb Your Enthusiasm's" Jeff
Garlin has crafted a winningly low-key "Marty" lite, bringing a Jewish,
showbiz spin to the tale of an overweight man still living with his
mother. "I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With" -- the cri du coeur of the
sad sack at the story's center -- is an enjoyable, if slight, valentine
to Garlin's native Chicago and old-fashioned romance, with nods along
the way to vintage coffee shops, homemade kugel and Jackie Gleason.
The comedy, a late addition to the recent Los Angeles Film Festival,
makes good use of some of Garlin's fellow Second City alumni: Bonnie
Hunt, Amy Sedaris, Dan Castellaneta and David Pasquesi. And though his
script only loosely connects scenes and shtick, Garlin's assured
directorial touch infuses the proceedings with generosity and heart.
Mina Kolb, who plays Garlin's character's mother on "Curb," does so here
as well, bringing a believable mix of maternal manipulation and
understanding to the part. When he's not home with her or working,
39-year-old actor James (Garlin) fills his nonworking hours with
junk-food binges, aimless perambulation and visits with his best friend
(Pasquesi). After he's unceremoniously dumped by a Second City
colleague, James succumbs to an attractive ice-cream parlor wacko (Sarah
Silverman) and begins a tentative flirtation with a slightly more
grounded, jazz-loving schoolteacher (Hunt).
A vague sense of career purpose takes hold when he learns that his
favorite film, "Marty," is being remade -- in typically idiotic fashion,
by people who wouldn't know Paddy Chayefsky from Patti LuPone. Garlin
also takes swipes at reality TV: At the beginning of the film, James
quits his stint on the cruel and stupid "Smear Job," a show directed
with pointless gusto by Charlie (filmmaker and occasional "Curb" cast
member Paul Mazursky).
Garlin's terrific comic timing is a key attribute, as is that of his
strong cast, which also includes Wallace Langham, Roger Bart and Richard
Kind. From both sides of the camera, Garlin knows how to let these
comedy masters shine.
--
It is simply breathtaking to watch the glee and abandon with which
the liberal media and the Angry Left have been attempting to turn
our military victory in Iraq into a second Vietnam quagmire. Too bad
for them, it's failing.
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