You know the saying: a relationship is like a shark—it has to move forward constantly or else it dies. In the comedies of American filmmaker Noah Baumbach, however, it isn’t romance that has to progress but the self in a changing world. Out with the old, in with the new! This rings in the ears of anxious protagonists across Greenberg (2010), Frances Ha (2012), and While We’re Young (2014)—nervous New Yorkers who are stuck in an overlong adolescence. Their tongues barbed with the wit of clever scripts, the films’ astutely cast actors turn these quarter- and mid-life crises into endlessly enjoyable cinema.
In Greenberg, Ben Stiller inhabits the peculiar neuroses of a once-upon-a-time musician, most-of-the-time slacker who writes countless letters of complaint and two-item grocery lists (ice cream sandwiches, whisky). Greta Gerwig co-stars as the enviably fresh face of youth, while in Frances Ha she is the eponymous, underemployed, and apparently undateable dancer who finds herself at an uncomfortable distance from her more fortunate best friend. Shot in black and white, the film follows Frances on a spontaneous trip to Paris that accentuates the influence of the French New Wave on Baumbach—a culturally voracious filmmaker who nonetheless questions the hipness of his interests via While We’re Young. Starring Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried, and Naomi Watts alongside Stiller, the film teases out the differences in how Gen X and millennials approach art and life. James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem provides the soundtracks for Greenberg and While We’re Young, and the triple bill as a whole echoes the lyrics of that band’s debut:  “I’m losing my edge to […] Brooklynites [… with] borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered ’80s”. If that song is bitter, though, then Baumbach is, in the end, open to what the kids of tomorrow might bring. Perhaps, after all, it’ll be alright.

You know the saying: a relationship is like a shark&#8212;it has to move forward constantly or else it dies. In the comedies of American filmmaker Noah Baumbach, however, it isn&#8217;t romance that has to progress but the self in a changing world. Out with the old, in with the new! This rings in the ears of anxious protagonists across Greenberg (2010), Frances Ha (2012), and While We&#8217;re Young (2014)&#8212;nervous New Yorkers who are stuck in an overlong adolescence. Their tongues barbed with the wit of clever scripts, the films&#8217; astutely cast actors turn these quarter- and mid-life crises into endlessly enjoyable cinema.
In Greenberg, Ben Stiller inhabits the peculiar neuroses of a once-upon-a-time musician, most-of-the-time slacker who writes countless letters of complaint and two-item grocery lists (ice cream sandwiches, whisky). Greta Gerwig co-stars as the enviably fresh face of youth, while in Frances Ha she is the eponymous, underemployed, and apparently undateable dancer who finds herself at an uncomfortable distance from her more fortunate best friend. Shot in black and white, the film follows Frances on a spontaneous trip to Paris that accentuates the influence of the French New Wave on Baumbach&#8212;a culturally voracious filmmaker who nonetheless questions the hipness of his interests via While We&#8217;re Young. Starring Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried, and Naomi Watts alongside Stiller, the film teases out the differences in how Gen X and millennials approach art and life. James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem provides the soundtracks for Greenberg and While We&#8217;re Young, and the triple bill as a whole echoes the lyrics of that band&#8217;s debut: &#8220;I&#8217;m losing my edge to […] Brooklynites [… with] borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered &#8217;80s&#8221;. If that song is bitter, though, then Baumbach is, in the end, open to what the kids of tomorrow might bring. Perhaps, after all, it&#8217;ll be alright.

Awkward Age: A Noah Baumbach Triple Bill

AWKWARD AGE: A NOAH BAUMBACH TRIPLE BILL

Zeroing in on New York creatives and intellectuals who find themselves in a rut, Noah Baumbach brings sparkling insight to the drama of quarter- and mid-life crises. With witty scripts in hand, the films’ astutely cast actors turn life’s crossroads into the stuff of endlessly enjoyable cinema.

Zeroing in on New York creatives and intellectuals who find themselves in a rut, Noah Baumbach brings sparkling insight to the drama of quarter- and mid-life crises. With witty scripts in hand, the films&#8217; astutely cast actors turn life&#8217;s crossroads into the stuff of endlessly enjoyable cinema.