Ben Gottlieb (Jason Schwartzman) is having a dreadful time. His wife has died. He’s living with his two mothers, who coddle him like a small child and for some unmentioned reason make him sleep in the garage of their huge house. Worst of all, he can no longer sing, which is his entire job. Ben is the cantor at a small Jewish temple in upstate New York, meaning it’s his task to sing the scripture and lead the congregation in prayer. Unable to perform or muster any enthusiasm for anything but drinking – alone, in busy bars – Ben has lost all purpose. Then he meets Carla (Carol Kane), who wants Ben’s help preparing for her Bat Mitzvah. Most Bat Mitzvah students are 12 years old. Carla is a little late to her party. She’s 68.
There’s something quite old-fashioned about Nathan Silver’s film. It has a bit of an early ’00s indie tone to it, from its softly-lit, almost sludgy visuals, to its loose, sardonic, mopey nature bringing to mind everything from Garden State to Ghost World to Lars and the Real Girl. It’s sometimes cloying in its studied quirkiness and slips into self-indulgence, especially in scenes set around family dinners, which give the impression of being largely improvised, reaching for punchlines that aren’t always found. But if at times it’s irksomely twee, at its heart there’s a great deal of charm.
If at times it’s irksomely twee, there’s a great deal of charm
Schwartzman and Kane make a very loveable double act. He’s schlumpy and seemingly ever on the edge of a nap or a breakdown, while she’s determined to seize every moment, so enthused to do all she can that she doesn’t always finish her current thought before starting her next. Silver never fully defines their relationship – although everyone around Ben would very much like to clarify whether it’s just friendship, or more – and lets it be its own indefinable, lovely thing.
Her high energy and his low mix together well and they produce funny moments out of seemingly nothing. One of the funniest scenes has Ben simply lying on a table while Carla tells him to breathe.
The film is at its best when it’s sitting just with them, not doing much, not trying too hard to be eccentric; just shooting the breeze and being cheerfully weird.
In US theaters and UK cinemas Fri Aug 23.