Cyrus (2010)

Fellow cringe-lovers, unite! This love triangle between a man, a woman, and her 21 year old son is a riot of awkwardness morphing into real character development. It will not be for everyone but we had a blast. Watch the trailer. If it makes you want to run screaming from the room, then you know it's not for you. If you like it, run to see the movie. John C. Reilly (Oscar nominated for another awkward character, Mr. Cellophane in Chicago (2002), fabulous in so many things, my favorites are What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Georgia (1995), Hard Eight (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999), and Anniversary Party (2001), all cringe-worthy in their own ways) is the perfect man for the leading role of John, a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. Jonah Hill (Knocked Up (2007), Superbad (2007), Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), Funny People, Get Him to the Greek) is not one of my favorites, and is the reason we didn't think we'd like it so much, but he really gets to stretch dramatically as Cyrus. Marisa Tomei (Oscar winner for My Cousin Vinny, nominated for In the Bedroom (2001) and The Wrestler, also great in Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), a recurring role on FX's Rescue Me in 2006, and much more) plays it straight as the mom, Molly, which makes it even better. And Catherine Keener (I wrote a little about her in Please Give and also really liked her in The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005), Being John Malkovich (1999), and Living in Oblivion), for a change, plays a person who is nicer than she needs to be, John's only friend, his ex-wife. We saw directors/writers Jay and Mark Duplass' first feature The Puffy Chair (2005), and thought it was pretty strange, despite its Audience Award at SXSW Film Festival and Independent Spirit Award nominations. By comparison, Cyrus is mainstream, with its nice Highland Park and Elysian Park (Los Angeles) locations, big stars, and cameras apparently mounted on tripods instead of handheld.

The soundtrack is full of songs (see this link for a list, by composer, after you scroll down a bit), including Charlie Wadhams' single My Love, but the Michael Andrews compositions (many featuring plucked strings) are wonderful. I have spent far too long looking online for links to that music. But noooo. Even when I tell google to eliminate all links with the name Miley, I can't find any of it. There is also some good techno as part of the plot. I consider it a spoiler to show you the clip, so you'll just have to find it without me. I suspect that those who loved Greenberg (note: Greta Gerwig from Greenberg was in the Duplass brothers' other feature Baghead (2008), which we didn't see, and Mark Duplass had a cameo in Greenberg as Greenberg's successful ex-bandmate) will also love Cyrus.