Robert J. Maxwell The musical theme is a sprightly French tune led by an accordion that might develop a psychological set in the viewer, something like: "Oh, good, a Jaques Tati kind of movie!" Mais pas de tout.Jeff Garlin is a good natured enough Chicagoan and a little clumsy but there is no slapstick worth mentioning, he minds his own business, his innocence doesn't get him into trouble, he speaks loudly and emphatically, he's ambitious rather than feckless, and he's burly instead of tall and skinny. But he shares with M. Hulot a polite regard for the welfare of others.The problem with Jeff Garlin, a cast member of Chicago's Second City, is that he's not particularly handsome and he's overweight. By the way, I don't know if it's intentional or not, but the Second City sketch we see, something about Garlin's being a hillbilly who likes corn, is anything but funny. At any rate, his weight and his features, which are about as interesting as a hard-boiled egg, don't get him very far with the girls. Invited to speak about himself and his job before a class of kindergartners, he announces loudly, "My problem is that I need to get laid." The little kids sit there dumbly while their teacher's jaw drops. It's one of many cute scenes. Then there is his mother, hanging over him, predicting his every move and divining his every thought.Then he bumps into Sarah Silverman and begins to get resonant vibes. She's an interesting actress. She does well by a rather complex role. She's attractive too, with her vulpine face and her eyes set so close to each other across the bridge of her nose. And she's surprisingly well built. She's trying on underwear in a department store and Garlin is doing his best to sneak sidewise glimpses of her behind the curtain. A sales lady comes to him and asks him to take another pair of bra and panties to "your girlfriend." This struck a personal chord because I was once asked to do a similar favor for a beautiful girl I hardly knew. (I gulped and complied.) I don't know if I should reveal why an attractive young woman like Sarah Silverman should be interested in a nice but plump guy like Jeff Garlin. I guess I won't. It's enough that, the next day, Garlin goes around with a big smile and tells everyone, his mother included, that, "Last night I had sex for the first time in five years." It really IS something like "Marty" without the drama. There are constant references to "Marty" throughout the film. Garlin tries out for the part in a local play, arguing, "I AM Marty!" But Marty was genuinely in love with the frangible Betsy Blair, while Jeff Garlin, though he likes Silverman, seems mainly interested in sleeping with her. And Garlin, smiling and puzzled as he often is, never experiences a moment of despair -- which is okay with me, as far as that goes.It's a pleasant enough way to spend an hour and a half and it has its moments of quirky charm, much of them coming from Garlin's oddball friends, like a hot dog vendor dressed as a pirate.

maia_lloyd This is probably the worst film I've seen in ages and I've seen a lot of films.It's like a really bad episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm where nothing is funny and there is no Larry David.Sarah Silverman is slightly funny but the whole film is so badly written that after about 10 mins I wanted to stick pencils in my eyes.It would be more fun just eating cheese, lots of cheese. So much cheese that you turn into a really fat man, become an aspiring actor, get dumped by your girlfriend and then star in a really terrible film.Jeff Garlin you should be ashamed of yourself.

denger4000 written and Directed by Jeff Garlin, some of you may know him as Larry Davids Friend and Agent from the HBO show "Curb Your Enthusiasm". The film is basically one of those character movies that has no real plot and humor is based on witty conversation. Normally I love those movies, if done right. Now I'm not saying this was done wrong per se. But it has problems, the plot is a fat 39 year old actor who lives with his mom, also he doesn't get much work. Oh, and he has bad luck with women, which turns into the main theme really. The movie also stars Sarah Silverman. I used to find her funny and attractive but lately I find her annoying and lanky. This film shows her in the latter. The movie claims that Jeff Garlin wrote the movie but I would bet money that Sarah wrote her own lines. That or he knows she can only play an annoying self absorbed immature flake. The humor is very much like "Curb Your Enthusiasm". I can see Jeff was influenced (ripped off) Larry David's style of humor. Except of course it's not as good, not nearly. The movie pretty much has no plot, but it also lacks a point of message or anything, after I was done watching it I wasn't sure what I was supposed to take from this movie, it's just a bunch of stuff that happens really. I dunno. On the bright side I wasn't bored while watching it, I wanted to see what would happen next (which was nothing). Worth watching if you're a Curb Fan but just don't except much. Also worth noting....Dan Castellaneta plays a store clerk! yay Homer!

correcamino Has the proliferation of relatively high quality shows on the proliferating TV networks made it possible for people to produce, direct, finance and/or star in their own films who might otherwise not have been able to? Is that a good thing? This film does not answer the latter question either way, but it does appear that without Curb, Jeff Garlin would not have been able to make I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With. Like most new producers/directors, Jeff Garlin's independent piece heaves a heavily more sensitive sigh than the vehicle he is primarily known for (Curb). And yet, is it a sensitive guy film? He isn't really a sensitive guy. Likable, sure. Relatable, indeed. What this film really is about is a bit hard to say, I can only relate what I took away from it. I rented the film because of the trailers, particularly the scene of a counselor portrayed by Amy Sedaris informing James Aaron (Garlin) that a particular woman is interested in him mainly because she is a "chubby chaser." I just about fell out of my seat. Based on that scene alone, I ran to my computer to write a note to myself to rent this movie. The reason - I thought the school counselor (Sedaris) was talking about Beth, portrayed by Sarah Silverman. I imagined a lightish romantic comedy between the foxy Silverman and the fat Garlin. I didn't think the story would be anything original, but that the dialogue would be snappy and the scenes would move along at a satisfying pace. In short, I thought it would be a comedy. It was intriguing that the film started out that way but then took a much much more realistic turn when Beth gives James the heave ho because "I've never really been with a fat guy before." That is how brutally we live life, and it was completely realistic. I applaud the decision. It just meant that Beth has now left the building and with her, the one snappy person in the film.James's relationship with his mother was also interesting. That part made me wonder if the whole concept did not start out as a play. It had that intricate feel to it. (The whole "Marty" movie within a movie thing was utterly lost on me, as I have never seen that film.)There were serious doubts I had about the character of James Aaron, though. Is it really possible that at 39 he had not had a serious relationship? And he is an actor? That did not really square with me. To me, his persona was less actor-y, and more corporate. I could not really buy his ordinariness either. No doubt he was extremely disappointed that things with Beth did not work out. We felt that. But then, did he really care? Another thing - how in the world can both he and his mother afford to move out at the same time? Hasn't he just lost his job? The last one he had? That was one reason he did not seem ordinary to me. Where's the funding for his life coming from? And yet, I have read reviews that talk about the realistic portrayal of urban loneliness, so there is that. Yes, it is very realistic, the way we must be satisfied with what we have because it is all that we have. The way we sort of disappear from ourselves and each other in interactions (James and Stella), some kind of self-effacement that takes place just to move on to the next moment. That, contrasted with the possibility of defining ourselves through our moments, our thoughts the way James had with Beth, it's really crushing.Very well done.