Though the title could use some trimming too, the movie pulls off that delicate balancing act between creating a sympathetic big guy with a huge eating disorder, while keeping the fat jokes tastefully funny.
I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:48
Fresh:35
Rotten:13
Average Rating:6.5/10
Consensus: This quirky romantic comedy's realistic depiction of a lonely guy looking for love is sure to please fans of Curb Your Enthusiasm's Jeff Garlin.
Runtime: 80 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM star Jeff Garlin brings a pet project to the screen (Garlin is credited as director, star, screenwriter, and producer) with the fluffy romantic comedy I WANT SOMEONE TO EAT... CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM star Jeff Garlin brings a pet project to the screen (Garlin is credited as director, star, screenwriter, and producer) with the fluffy romantic comedy I WANT SOMEONE TO EAT CHEESE WITH. The film is based on the exploits of an overweight, aging actor named James Aaron (Garlin). James lives at home with his mom, has been overly picky about which roles he'll play (and therefore never gets any work beyond an awful job hosting a prank-related TV show), and has no luck with women. He also has a strange obsession with Ernest Borgnine's character in the 1955 Delbert Mann feature MARTY. But an aborted attempt at attending Overeaters Anonymous meetings leads the rotund actor to one of his favorite places, the ice cream parlor, where he enjoys a surprising flirtation with the cute-but-somewhat-unhinged Beth (Sarah Silverman). Garlin's brief, 80-minute long feature is strung along by a loose plot that is really just a CURB-style basis for the talented comic to deliver a series of jokes with his comedian friends. Supporting roles come from luminaries such as Amy Sedaris, Dan Castellaneta, Bonnie Hunt, and Gina Gershon among others, and while the humor sometimes delves into deliciously crude wisecracks, a genuine feeling of empathy for James simmers to the surface as the film reaches its final act. [More]
Starring: Jeff Garlin, Bonnie Hunt, Sarah Silverman, David Pasquesi
Starring: Jeff Garlin, Bonnie Hunt, Sarah Silverman, David Pasquesi, Mina Kolb, Amy Sedaris, Roger Bart, Rose Abdoo, Elle Fanning, Tim Kazurinsky, Richard Kind, Paul Mazursky, Dan Castellaneta, Gina Gershon
Director: Jeff Garlin
Director: Jeff Garlin
Producer: Jeff Garlin, Erin O'Malley, Steve Pink
Studio: IFC Films
Reviews for I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
The more James groans to an unsympathetic ear, "Why would they remake Marty--it's timeless?" we wonder why Garlin didn't take his own advice
You have to like James and his outlook on life. It may not be glamorous, but it's one that eventually allows James a higher lever of satisfaction.
Cheese is such a small, endearing and well-observed piece -- sort of Curb Your Enthusiasm without the excruciating bits.
Despite Garlin’s chops and cameos from a who’s who of Second City alumni, the film can’t find a consistent comic groove.
Garlin wrote, directed, and stars in this endearing schlub-in-Chicago movie, which is based on his solo stage show of the same title.
Garlin's directing has little pacing, and many of the borderline gags could have been salvaged with some sharper editing. And there's a shocking amount of jokes and situations that just don't work.
Some of James' adventures go nowhere, but his encounters with females ... are loaded with humor and warmth.
It celebrates its modesty, it becomes our friend, we're surprisingly touched by it even though it doesn't rock us. If there is such a thing as a must-see three-star movie, here it is.
The cameos and local details, and even some of the gags, keep it perky.
It may not exactly conform to what many people might expect to see from a current-day romantic comedy, it is one of the more satisfying examples of the genre to come along in recent months.
This is a film that can't quite decide if it wants to be a show-business spoof, a romantic comedy or an embarrassment comedy along the lines of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm.
I’ve no clue how the world will take to I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With. For Chicago, it’s a scrumptious, four-star banquet.
Garlin's clearly inspired by his own experiences living as someone who's fat and funny, but being honest isn't the same thing as being perceptive.
Somehow Garlin maintains a buoyant, humanistic tone throughout the parade of lonely humiliations. It's an endearing little movie with a great big heart.
You might wish this speed-limit-safe exercise in Woody Allen-esque urban romantic neuroses had taken jazzier comic risks.
Latest News for I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
October 04, 2007:
Interview: Jeff Garlin on I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
Written, produced, directed, and starring Jeff Garlin, I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With shows us a softer side of the Curb Your Enthusiasm actor. RT met up with Garlin to chat... More...
September 24, 2007:
A romantic comedy trading on Woody Allen's trademark themes, except substituting Chicago for New York as a backdrop and as the cinematic source of its inspiration. Too bad comedienne Sarah Silverman simply is no Diane Keaton. La-di-da... la-di-da... ![]()
More...
September 01, 2007:
Sharing her own fantasy with her fat suitor about cheese eating and romance, and hoagy shacks (sticking your wiener between bosoms, don't ask), Silverman's ballsy babe nicely turns the tables on the whole macho entitlement salacious courtship thing. ![]()
More...
September 01, 2007:
Trailer & Poster review. ![]()
More...
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