Mr. Jealousy (1997)
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Mr. Jealousy Movie Review
Mr. Jealousy is a 1997 romantic comedy film directed by Noah Baumbach and starring Eric Stoltz and Annabella Sciorra. It’s a weaker early effort from this director.
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“I hate it when people don’t live up to their stereotypes“
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A writer becomes obsessed with his girlfriend’s former boyfriend, now a very successful novelist. To discover if the ex-boyfriend still has feelings for his old love, the writer joins the novelist’s group therapy meetings. This was the second feature movie directed by Noah Baumbach and during this period he still got a lot to learn as the movie is messy and very subpar.
This is a great example of how some directors take their sweet time getting to a more confident directorial style in their first years. This film was influenced by so many previous films and filmmakers with Woody Allen being the prime suspect. But it lacks the signature humor of Allen and those comedic moments here are not all that funny to begin with.
I also found the acting performances rather pedestrian. Eric Stoltz is quite un uninteresting actor and his character was to me insufferable and quite unlikable. Annabella Sciorra fared better, but her performance was also only serviceable. Others failed to register at all as the film is almost exclusively focused on these two.
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Mr. Jealousy does have a strong premise. The execution left a lot to be desired, but at least the premise is original and unlike anything else in this genre. It is also positively lacking in cheesy one-liners and pathetic emotional deliveries. It is at its best when focusing on complex human interactions as the dialogue is reliably great from Baumbach. The technical aspects, though, are nothing to write home about. The narration serves its purpose, but is excessive and quite annoying at times.
Mr. Jealousy is one of the first feature films directed by Noah Baumbach and as such it wasn’t as effective as his later efforts. It’s a romantic comedy influenced by the works of Woody Allen, but it lacks his signature humor and style. The dialogue is strong and the premise is quite original, but the execution is pedestrian and the characters are uninteresting.
My Rating – 3
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