Mr. Jealousy Blu-ray Review
Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, April 2, 2022
There's a kind of curious throwaway line in the trailer for
Mr. Jealousy (which is included on this disc as a "supplement") where writer and
director Noah Baumbach provides the same kind of "narration" he does for the actual film, and where he encourages prospective ticket buyers to "skip
the multiplex and head straight for the art house" in order to be able to see "the
real green eyed monster".
That slightly odd
allusion (?) made me wonder if there had been a movie featuring a certain Marvel Comics character that came out circa 1997 - 1998, but, no, the only
thing I could find was
The Incredible Hulk, an animated series that
was airing around that time. Could Baumbach have been referencing a "mere"
cartoon in his obviously joking voiceover? Baumbach is on
hand in some archival interviews also included on this disc, and if he doesn't address this obviously pressing issue (that's a joke, folks), he
does
get into some of his tribulations making
Mr. Jealousy, and how he perhaps feels a bit ambiguous about the results.
Mr. Jealousy
kind of unavoidably
is a rather peculiar film, at least from a tonal perspective, at it kind of flirts (no pun intended) with supposed "rom
com" territory while also having a somewhat darker, maybe even sinister, subtext. That comes courtesy of a plot conceit that posits focal character
Lester (Eric Stoltz) as suffering from almost debilitating jealousy which was sparked by him seeing his first girlfriend kiss another guy at a party when
Lester was still a teenaged kid.
That supposedly traumatizing event turned Lester into, well, a green eyed monster, and as voiceover
describes, all subsequent relationships have been destroyed by Lester's unending suspicions and questioning of his prospective partners. Enter
Ramona (Anabella Sciorra).
Stories about couples who "meet cute", develop a relationship and then encounter any number of ups and/or downs have been a staple of movies
since time immemorial, or at least the 20th century and dawn of the "real" cinematic era, and so
Mr. Jealousy may be trying to swim
upstream through a current of memories of other, arguably more consistently funny, films. That said, there's an appealing naturalness to at least
some of what's being depicted in the film, as Ramona, the sort of woman who is probably
too friendly, collides (in a manner of
speaking) with the much more thorny temperament of Lester. While Ramona announces almost instantly after meeting Lester that she's "shy", she
isn't especially reticent about sharing some of her love life prior
to meeting Lester, and of course Lester finds himself falling into "old
habits".
When Ramona mentions she had a relatively long relationship with a now famous author named Dashiell Frank (Chris Eigeman), Lester begins to
become
really neurotic, taking to tailing Dashiell around town, where he soon figures out Dashiell is part of a weekly group therapy
session
headed by the supposedly hilariously named Dr. Poke (Peter Bogdanovich).
Despite probable indications to the contrary, mental health and therapy
can be played for laughs, as such estimable television series as
the late great
The Bob Newhart Show more than admirably
proved. And it seems like Baumbach is going to start exploiting that same kind of slightly askew humor after Lester decides to assume the name of
his friend Vince (Carlos Jacott) and join the group in order to get "up close and personal" to Dashiell. Suffice it to say that Lester and Dashiell
become sparring partners of sorts, in a kind of "bromance" take on the above mentioned "oil and water" aspect of many rom coms. Despite the
apparent opportunity for near farcical exploits once the "real" Vince
also joins the group, for whatever reason Baumbach never really
goes for the gusto, instead diverting into more contentious showdowns between Lester and Ramona, especially after Ramona divulges even
more previous partners.
There's some good material here, but I found Stoltz's performance in particular to be somewhat at odds with what might be called the breezier
aspects of the script, injecting a kind of "method" seriousness where arguably a lighter touch might have delivered more consistent comedic results.
A lot of the supporting cast is goofily engaging, including the aforementioned Jacott and John Lehr as Lint, two friends of Lester's. The film almost
feels like an extended
Seinfeld or
Friends episode at times, with a bunch of overly articulate, not to mention occasionally neurotic, twenty or
thirty somethings getting together to discuss the vagaries of life and relationships at upscale restaurants. As Baumbach seems to hint at it in some
of the archival interviews included in the retrospective featurette included on this disc, this seemed to be a time when he was struggling somewhat
to find his own voice, and while
Mr. Jealousy has moments of connection and definite humor, there are some awkward spells as well. Your
reaction to this film may well depend on how funny you feel a therapist named Poke is in a film fraught with jealousy over sexual
relationships.
Use the thumbs up and thumbs down icons to agree or disagree that the title is similar to Mr. Jealousy. You can also suggest completely new similar titles to Mr. Jealousy in the search box below.
