Main Cast: Jeff Garlin, Sarah Silverman, Bonnie Hunt, David Pasquesi, Mina Kolb
Release Year: 2006
Country: US
Run Time: 80 minutes
Plot
Jeff Garlin, best known for his role as Larry David's manager on Curb Your Enthusiasm, has directed standup comedy specials for Jon Stewart and Denis Leary, and makes his feature-film debut with his own adaptation of his one-man stage show, I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With. Garlin stars as James, an overweight, depressed actor who does improv at Second City. James lives with his mother (Mina Kolb) and constantly cheats on his diet. His life seems to be in a downward spiral. He quits his acting job on a sleazy prank show, his girlfriend (Rebecca Sage Allen) breaks up with him, and his agent (Richard Kind) dumps him. When he visits his friend's daughter's elementary school for Career Day, he embarrasses himself in front of the attractive teacher (Bonnie Hunt) by rambling inappropriately about his personal problems in front of the kids. He hears about a Chicago-based remake of Paddy Chayefsky's Marty, one of his favorite movies, and the role he seemingly was born to play, but he can't even get an audition. One day, after giving up on Compulsive Eaters Anonymous, he seeks solace in an ice cream parlor, where he meets Beth (Sarah Silverman), who quickly wins his heart by offering him free ice cream, and asking him a sexually provocative question. But his attraction to the sexually aggressive and somewhat demented Beth may bring James more problems than it solves. The film, which features appearances by Amy Sedaris, Dan Castellaneta, Wallace Langham, Roger Bart, Paul Mazursky, David Pasquesi, and Joey Slotnick, had its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Review
Although it has been released theatrically, Jeff Garlin's I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With really belongs in a small-screen setting. Not that it's a bad movie -- it's a clever, sometimes very effective comedy, with some excruciatingly funny scenes (involving not only star-writer-director Jeff Garlin, but also David Pasquesi, Dan Castellaneta, and Joey Slotnick); and some of what it has to say about romance and ambition is painfully valid, in terms of the contradictions people bring to both aspects of their lives. Additionally, the central plot premise, of the protagonist's fixation on the Paddy Chayefsky television play Marty, turns into both a sincere homage to that work and the era that spawned it, as well as a vehicle for a vicious attack on the entertainment industry's modern-day fixations on youth and glamour. But there's not enough energy to the narrative to maintain the film's momentum across its length, and the story arc, such as it is, is somewhat diffuse and difficult to perceive. At times, it feels as though one is watching a series of loosely related vignettes rather than a fully integrated film, and while I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With is often very effective, it might better have been programmed into a special time slot on Comedy Central. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
Jeff Garlin - Director, Steven Rasch - Editor, Harold Ramis - Executive Producer, David Miner - Executive Producer, Rob Kolson - Executive Producer, Rob Kolson - Composer (Music Score), Pete Biagi - Cinematographer, Jeff Garlin - Producer, Steve Pink - Producer, Erin O'Malley - Producer, Jeff Garlin - Screenwriter
Overweight, depressed improv actor James (Jeff Garlin) is a Second City cast member in Chicago. He lives with his mother (Mina Kolb, who also plays Garlin's mother in Curb Your Enthusiasm), and cheats on his diet. He quits his acting job on a sleazy television prank show, his girlfriend (Rebecca Sage Allen) breaks up with him, and his agent (Richard Kind) dumps him. When he visits his friend's daughter's elementary school for Career Day, he rambles about his problems, boring the kids, and embarrassing himself in front of the teacher, Stella (Bonnie Hunt). James relaxes in the evenings by lying on the hood of his car parked "in a great spot" beside Wrigley Field, and during the days by walking around the North Side of Chicago with his friend Luca (David Pasquesi), appreciating the buildings.
While wearing a pirate costume for a hot dog stand, James hears about a Chicago-based remake of Paddy Chayefsky's 1955 Marty, his favorite movie, and one that mirrors his adult life. He knows the director but cannot get an audition.
After walking out on his Compulsive Eaters Anonymous meeting, James goes to an ice cream parlor, where he meets "big-time hottie" Beth (Sarah Silverman), who recognizes him from Second City and offers him free ice cream. She asks him an obscurely lewd question, which she then cheerfully explains to him. When James, smitten, returns to the shop, Beth takes him on adventures, including a shopping trip for her to try on underwear. She disposes of him after "seeing what it was like to be with a fat guy." Meanwhile his role in Marty is given to a clueless young actor, real-life teen idol Aaron Carter.
As the story ends, James moves to his own apartment and reconnects with Stella, the elementary school teacher.
Production and distribution
"Garlin struggled to find financing, which twice fell through. He shot it in 18 days, but those days were spread out over two years," reported the Associated Press.[1]
IFC Films released the film on a non-traditional schedule, called "IFC First Take", part of IFC in Theaters. It appeared on pay-per-view cable television simultaneously with a limited theatrical release, in September 2007. The DVD would follow about seven months later, April 15, 2008. But in the meantime, IFC Films made a deal with Blockbuster, giving the video chain 60 days of exclusive rental and video on demand rights on each film. So as of March 2008, the DVD is available to rent at Blockbuster.
Rotten Tomatoes gave I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With a "fresh" rating of 74 percent with 34 positive reviews and 12 negative ones, with the "cream of the crop" giving it a rating of 81 percent.[2]The New York Times called the "rambling" film "laid back and affectionate".[3] In a appreciative review, Chicago-based Roger Ebert called it "a minor movie, but a big-time minor movie... If there is such a thing as a must-see three-star movie, here it is."[4] However John Maynard in The Washington Post scorned the movie, writing, "A better awkward title would be 'Random Events of a Failed Actor Plodding the Streets of Chicago.'"[5]
