So Jeff Garlin, star of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" decided to make a movie…in Chicago…casting a bunch of his Chicago buddies…in which he plays an actor who works with an improv group…and lives with his mom…and sees himself as the modern-day Marty (as in the Paddy Chayefsky character). I guess what I'm saying is that Garlin isn't exactly stretching himself here, which is actually okay since the guy has a natural charm and makes me laugh pretty much on sight.

Garlin plays James, a long-suffering actor who just wants someone to love, someone to go on a picnic with to Millennium Park and eat cheese with. But he's a man of simple means and little skills in the art of seduction, which doesn't stop him from getting two very different lovely women interested in him: Sarah Silverman, a fickle crazy person who works in an ice cream parlor, and Bonnie Hunt, a school teacher who seems a bit more James' speed. The film doesn't really have much of a story; it's mostly just a series of usually humorous exchanges between Garlin and his Chicago friends and/or comedy buddies he was able to coax into coming to the Windy City for a couple days to shoot some scenes. In nearly every seen, there's a place (James works at Second City) or a person (radio talk show host Steve Dahl shows up in a funny scene) that will be familiar to many Chicagoans. Appearances by the likes of Amy Sedaris, Dan Castellaneta, Roger Bart, Paul Mazursky, David Pasquesi, Gina Gershon, Richard Kind, Joey Slotnick, and others make the film a pleasant enough experience. But in the end, I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With is a simple story about fat funny guy looking for love.

To put things in perspective, James parks his guy in a great space practically next to Wrigley Field. Problem is, he doesn't live anywhere near Wrigley Field, but he's happy because it's a great space. If you know that feeling, you'll probably settle in rather nicely in this film. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you should probably take your business elsewhere. Garlin's charisma is infectious, and a slightly toned-down Silverman certainly adds some fire to the proceedings, which is necessarily. That being said, it's nice to see her play sweet even if she does do a 180 by the end of her storyline. There's a kicker at the film's end about a Marty remake that's actually really funny, but beyond that, expect a few chuckles and a whole lot of smiling as you enjoy Garlin's work.

-Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com