Mr. Jealousy (1998)

Noah Baumbach has a new film coming out on April Fool’s Day starring Ben Stiller. It seems like success happened overnight for the acclaimed filmmaker behind The Squid and the Whale and Wes Anderson’s recent co-author on several movies, including The Fantastic Mr. Fox. However, Baumbach has been making smart, edgy films for fifteen years, beginning with Kicking and Screaming. His budgets have gotten bigger, and he’s directed more A-list stars (including Nicole Kidman in the awesome Margot at the Wedding). His sophomore effort was an original and sophisticated romantic comedy (I refuse to use that annoying “rom-com” thing), Mr. Jealousy, starring Eric Stoltz and Annabella Sciorra.

Stoltz plays Lester Grimm. As an adolescent, Lester’s first girlfriend cheated on him, forever shattering any trust he would ever have for future partners, rendering him into a jealous, insecure, but charming guy. He feels differently when he meets Ramona (played by Sciorra), but soon slips back into his old habits. He becomes particularly fixated on her ex, Dashiell Frank, a successful novelist. Lester ends up inadvertently joining Dashiell’s group therapy to learn more about him, but also to learn more about Ramona and feel closer to her. Yes, you read that correctly. He joins his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend’s group therapy. All the malaise ensues from there.

Many of the same players from Baumbach’s Kicking and Screaming return here. Carlos Jacott and Chris Eigeman are back as Vince, Lester’s best friend and Dashiell, respectively. Eigeman is totally awesome in this. I love the work he did for Baumbach and Whit Stillman in the late 1990s and wish more people recognized him for these films. He’s a tremendous actor and plays Dashiell with just the right balance of arrogance and self-doubt. The writing is also strong. It works for me that Lester is a jealous guy, but still very likeable. His jealousy is rooted in absurdity rather than anything inherent, so that also earns sympathy from the audience rather than remind viewers of their own jealous exes.

One glaring flaw of the film is Annabella Sciorra’s casting. I didn’t feel her performance was strong or that she and Stoltz had any real chemistry. She’s wonderful at playing strong, razor-sharp females (Jungle Fever, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and Law and Order: Criminal Intent). However, this was a role that begged and screamed for Marisa Tomei or any other actress who excels at playing quirky, awkward, and gorgeous (think Clementine in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). Sciorra is a stunner, but this role was not for her.

The editing could’ve also been tighter. I love Baumbach’s dialogue, but it’s a bit heavy at times. There are several jump cuts, but those feel repetitive throughout the narrative and a bit over the top for the flat scope of the story. This is one of those rare films that can rely on its keen screenplay and simplistic storytelling without any fancy camerawork or cinematic techniques. If Polanski had ever done romantic comedy, it would’ve looked similar to this.

Overall, it is worth watching, particularly if you’re familiar with Noah Baumbach’s work, past and present. He was mastering dry humor before The Office made it popular. Despite its minimal flaws, Mr. Jealousy is an intelligent, witty, and entertaining romantic comedy that defies standard conventions of the genre and delivers solid and original storytelling.

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