The Squid and the Whale

2005 family movie

Rating: 17/20 (Jen: 16/20)

Plot: The Berkmans decide to end their troubled marriage and decide to have joint custody of their two sons. The sons find it difficult not to pick sides while their parents attempt to move on in their different ways.

Something like this can only be autobiographical which makes me kind of sad. This might as well be a Wes Anderson movie. Baumbach and Anderson are buds, and the dialogue and dysfunctional families made up of unlikable but easy-to-love pseudo-intellectual souls in this could easily have been characters in that or that. One of those characters is played by Jeff Daniels, an actor who always surprises me. I'll probably be surprised when I find out that I've already written that on this blog before probably. He's so good here playing a character who doesn't know he's going to be laughed at. I connected with the character, probably because he reminds me of somebody I know. Nothing that Daniels does here is dazzling, but this father is one complex character, one that is as shallow as can be while simultaneously having a whole lot of depth. And look at who else is on that poster: Jesse Eisenberg, a guy who my long-time 4 1/2 readers know I have a don't-mind-too-much/hate relationship with. This was the first time I noticed him, and the one character he's capable of playing is the perfect character for this spot. The other kid, Owen Kline, is really good, too, and I'm not just saying he's good for a child actor. It's one of those roles that makes you wonder why parents would allow their child to participate. It's not the cursing as much as it is the jism. Laura Linney is just as good as this character who, on the surface at least, is more likable than Daniels' character, even though she just might be the worse human being. It depends, I guess. Daniels' character is unlikable because of some personality flaws; Linney's character acts selfishly. With four unlikable characters driving this sorta-story, this movie might seem difficult to enjoy, but the characters are played so well and the script combines absolute despair and humor so well. It's humorous, but it's an uncomfortable kind of humor, partly because the performances are good enough to make you think these are real people and partly because you're really laughing at other people's misfortune. Personally, I don't have a problem with that because I do it anyway. The dialogue's fantastic, sneakily self-referential, the sort of words that bury truer meanings. It's entirely possible that I'm just impressed that a movie can survive under the weight of both an Eisenberg and a Baldwin brother. One big question, however: How is it that nobody seems to recognize that Eisenberg's character has ripped off a Pink Floyd song? He could probably have gotten away with a Syd Barrett b-side, but not something from The Wall. Speaking of music, a few tracks by both Bert Jansch and Loudon Wainwright III don't hurt matters here. I really can't think of another movie that is this depressing but still manages to be this enjoyable. It's not a downer despite being sort of a downer as Baumbach pretty much eviscerates his parents on screen. My favorite little scene is when Daniels, Eisenberg, and Eisenberg's girlfriend go to a movie. Short Circuit was vetoed in favor of another movie, one completely appropriate for a father to take his teen son and son's girlfriend to.

I'll have to check, but I believe this is the only the second time I've used the word jism in a blog entry. That's almost shocking. Anybody want to take a stab at the other movie I used that word in? I'll buy a doughnut for the first person to guess it unless I suspect that you looked it up. Then, I'll just imitate Wonka and say, "You get nothing!"