I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Jeff Garlin

Writer (WGA):

Jeff Garlin (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Sometimes love is just a big bowl of wrong.

Plot:

About a man who has trouble with his job, trouble with women, and uses food to deal with it all.

Plot Keywords:

Second City | Agent | Food | Cheese | School

Cast

Jeff Garlin	...	James Aaron
Dan Castellaneta	...	Dick
Mina Kolb	...	Mrs. Aaron
Paul Mazursky	...	Charlie Perlman
Rose Abdoo	...	Car Dealership Receptionist
Tim Kazurinsky	...	Bill Bjango
Jessy Schram	...	Fake Daughter
Rebecca Sage Allen	...	Andrea Hope (as Rebecca Allen)
Henriette Mantel	...	Myra
David Pasquesi	...	Luca Giancarlo
Kate Merrill	...	French Woman
Cita Orendain	...	Philippino Woman
Joey Slotnick	...	Larry
Patti Vasquez	...	Hot Dog Lady
Josh Rosenblatt	...	Poncho Boy

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

3 Art Entertainment

Quotes:

Mrs. Aaron: You're not gonna wear that shirt, are you?
James Aaron: Don't you see that's not even a question?
Mrs. Aaron: That shirt makes you look fat.
James Aaron: That's because I am fat.
Mrs. Aaron: You're not fat!
James Aaron: If anything, I make the shirt look fat!

Movie Connections:

References "Wonder Woman" (1976)

Soundtrack:

Hippies Walk

I like mozzarella, she likes provolone

In an early scene, Luca (David Pasquesi) and James (Jeff Garlin) are walking down a neighborhood street in Chicago, admiring the bucolic architecture, when a woman, angrily arguing in French on a cell phone, passes by them, prompting James to remark, "There's nothing hotter than an angry French woman." A few blocks later, they pass an old Filipino woman, also angry, also arguing on a cell phone, and Luca remarks, for referential effect, "There's nothing hotter than an angry, elderly Filipino woman."

The humor in Jeff Garlin's I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With is best characterized by the word quotidian. The film is a conversation. We might as well be eavesdropping. Rather than go for antics, the film relies on character flaws and human curiosity to deliver laughs. While it's not innovative, it is far from banal, and even if James views himself as being rather jejune, we know that he is fairly average, and this endears him.

Self-betterment is the primary theme of the movie. Sarah Silverman, who plays Beth, is excellent as the catalyst of change; she revitalizes James, and so reminds him to live a better life. Even so, achieving some idyllic dream is not the end of these characters, but rather something simpler: that they might pick up what pieces there are of the life they love, just to keep for themselves at least enough to carry on.

A movie about life lessons can be overwrought, as it can forget to connect with its audience. I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With is subtle and winsome, and while its moral may not be inspiring, it is still resonant. This is low-key comedy, but it will stick with you.