The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) – 2017 Baumbach
Amongst the many pleasures it serves as the best Dustin Hoffman performance in at least 20 years (wag the dog) and perhaps closer to 30 years (rain man in 1988). His Harold is such a mess of ego and insecurities
Sandler’s best work since punch drunk love– he’s singled out by almost every critic for his work here- he’s an genuine character, such authenticity- even more so than his work in punch drunk love. I’d love to see him work with Baumbach again
The Hoffman character is the films patriarch and I see so many similarities with the Jeff Daniels character in the squid and the whale (still probably Baumbach’s best film). He uses, hilariously, the phrases “feather in my cap” and “it’s a minor work of mine” which I’m pretty sure Daniels did as well. The film is really nothing new- just an updated retelling of the same from Baumbach which many true auteurs do. The film is certainly part squid and the whale (his own work) and owes much to other family drama films (everything from David O. Russell’s work to royal tenenbaums (the casting of stiller as the business-minded son with father issues…hello!) to Hannah and Her Sisters from Woody Allen.
Love the Emma Thompson line about Willem Dafoe being a former lover- had me laughing
Adam Driver’s scene with Stiller is hilarious, Sigourney Weaver’s scene is really just a cameo of her introducing herself. Candace Bergan has 40 seconds on screen but delivers her line so well- it’s a poignant moment
It’s a Dustin Hoffman movie so we have him running here through the streets of NYC (at age 80) just such a wink by Baumbach to cinephiles—I love it. I even think a few of Sandler’s more anger-laden outbursts may be a wink to punch drunk love– not as sure on that one
Narrative skeleton given form through the chapter breaks of the characters names in white
Werner Herzog hilarious reference (naming of the dog)
The family feels so realistic
“your kid looks like the young boy in kubrick’s the shining”
The highlight of the film is the lunch between Stiller and Hoffman—absolutely uproarious – “it’s my protest”
The visual style isn’t as loud and vibrant as most top-10 of the year quality films (it’s not the squid and the whale or frances ha upon first viewing) is given breathe with the dynamic editing choices—mainly—Baumbach chooses to cut right in the middle (back-middle) of yelling or arguing
Baumbach uses Sandler’s musical talents and fondness for music
Characters often talking past each other and repeating their own same lines and stories like real people do but is rarely seen in cinema
Recommend/ Highly Recommend border upon first viewing
this to me is a clear masterpiece and one of the greatest scripts in history. also the acting from hoffman could be his best and either this or punch drunk love (i like this character better) is sandler’s best character. ben stiller and thompson are excellent as well and so is driver in his two or so minutes. id say this departed , vanilla sky, punch drunk or fury road is the greatest film of the century. maybe no country as well. up, kill bill 1, hateful eight, aviator and zootopia honorable mentions. i used to think roma was the best movieever, and it is a visual masterpiece but i cant help but see roma as the help and a white savior story. anyways back to meyerowitz the narrative was super engaging and i loved its references to mise en scene (something you wouldnt expect sandler to say), and kubrick, herzog. also i love lines like “everyone is trying to be a filmaker these days”. if this is sandler’s or hoffmans best performance in my opinion that is saying a lot as i see hoffman as one of the top ten (if not 15) actors of all time in terms of talent. and i consider sandler in punch drunk love as one of the best performances in acting history.
@wayne — great stuff here. Thank you for the comment. I’m a big admirer of Baumbach and “The Meyerowitz Stories”. It’s been 2 years since I’ve seen it and only caught it once. Perhaps I can squeeze it in before I see Baumbach’s “Marriage Story”. I can’t say it’s a “clear masterpiece” and I don’t think you can compare the achievement here to something like “Roma”.
this to me is a clear masterpiece and one of the greatest scripts in history. also the acting from hoffman could be his best and either this or punch drunk love (i like this character better) is sandler’s best character. ben stiller and thompson are excellent as well and so is driver in his two or so minutes. id say this departed , vanilla sky, punch drunk or fury road is the greatest film of the century. maybe no country as well. up, kill bill 1, hateful eight, aviator and zootopia honorable mentions. i used to think roma was the best movieever, and it is a visual masterpiece but i cant help but see roma as the help and a white savior story. anyways back to meyerowitz the narrative was super engaging and i loved its references to mise en scene (something you wouldnt expect sandler to say), and kubrick, herzog. also i love lines like “everyone is trying to be a filmaker these days”. if this is sandler’s or hoffmans best performance in my opinion that is saying a lot as i see hoffman as one of the top ten (if not 15) actors of all time in terms of talent. and i consider sandler in punch drunk love as one of the best performances in acting history.
@wayne — great stuff here. Thank you for the comment. I’m a big admirer of Baumbach and “The Meyerowitz Stories”. It’s been 2 years since I’ve seen it and only caught it once. Perhaps I can squeeze it in before I see Baumbach’s “Marriage Story”. I can’t say it’s a “clear masterpiece” and I don’t think you can compare the achievement here to something like “Roma”.