GIRL BREAKS UP WITH BOY, MOVES UPSTAIRS
THE BOY DOWNSTAIRS
Zosia Mamet takes a step beyond “Girls,” but can’t shed its affectations, in this uneven romcom from writer-director Sophie Brooks. Diana, Mamet’s aspiring-author character, returns to New York from two years abroad only to discover she’s rented an apartment in the same building as her ex-boyfriend Ben (Matthew Shear).
Borderline-stalking her ex and his girlfriend (Sarah Ramos) while maintaining she’s not interested, Diana’s the kind of clueless — and, honestly, slightly creepy — protagonist who was traditionally played by guys in romantic comedies. It’s refreshing to see her trip over her romantic and career mistakes without descending into the trappings of female self-doubt (no shopping or binge-eating scenes here), but Mamet’s passive-aggressive inflection, so evocative of her “Girls” character, Shoshanna, tends to grate. Watching her and Shear exchange Brooks’ wry, halting dialogue makes you wonder how the two ever dredged up enough genuine feeling to fall in love in the first place.
Brooks also indulges some clichés, including the one where a New Yorker who works a meager retail job can somehow afford a tony brownstone apartment, and the one where an eccentric older neighbor (Deirdre O’Connell) becomes a fount of relationship wisdom. Diana’s also got the requisite supportive bestie (Diana Irvine), who’s largely dropped from the plot halfway through.
More frustratingly, Brooks jumps back and forth in time between the couple’s past relationship and the current day, with nary a physical or emotive change evident in either party. It becomes a task just to figure out which timeline you’re in, and then convince yourself you should care.
Running time: 91 minutes. Rated PG-13 (profanity). Now playing. — Sara Stewart