Every Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach Movie, Ranked – Including ‘Barbie’
Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach have one of the best partnerships in Hollywood. I’m not referring to their romantic relationship. (Although I’m sure their two kids are lovely, and I do so enjoy that meme image of the two of them attending a Knicks game together.) I’m talking about the creative partnership, which first began when Baumbach directed Gerwig as the lead in his 2010 drama Greenberg, and has now culminated in their co-written script for the most anticipated movie of the year, Barbie.
If you consider their work separately, combining the sensibilities of Gerwig and Baumbach is a no-brainer. Both are interested in a specific brand of self-centered, intellectual characters; from the emotionally immature teenager played by Saoirse Ronan in Lady Bird, to the pretentious theater director played by Adam Driver in Marriage Story. And yet, despite these characters’ shortcomings, we still love and root for them. We wouldn’t want to be their friends, necessarily, be we empathize. That’s because, as writers and directors, Gerwig and Baumbach always prioritize their characters. The No. 1 goal in any Gerwig or Baumbach film is to get audiences to understand these complex, flawed people. (And, yes, said characters are usually educated white people. They say to write what you know!)
And when they work together, whether as co-writers or director-and-actor, Gerwig and Baumbach are a character study tour-de-force. Barbie is something entirely new for these two great filmmakers, in terms of scale, tone, and message. And yet, you can still hear Gerwig and Baumbach’s distinct voices in the script.
In the true spirit of collaboration and art, I’ve decided to pit all of these very good movies against each other. This is America, and we need winners and losers! Scroll down for a list of all of the Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach collaborations, ranked, as well as a handy link for where to stream these Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach movies.
5
DIRECTOR: Noah Baumbach
WRITER: Noah Baumbach
STARS: Greta Gerwig, Adam Driver, Don Cheadle
I enjoyed many parts of Baumbach’s adaptation Don DeLillo’s 1985 novel, including Gerwig’s absurd ’80s perm, and that absolutely delightful supermarket dance number. As a director-and-actor duo, Baumbach and Gerwig deliver some of their funniest work to date. But ultimately, even Baumbach couldn’t smooth over the disjointed, bizarre story from DeLillo to make a satisfying film.
4
DIRECTOR: Noah Baumbach
WRITER: Noah Baumbach, story by Baumbach and Jennifer Jason Leigh
STARS: Greta Gerwig, Ben Stiller
What kind of person actually bothers to write complaint letters to companies? Baumbach attempts to answer that question with Ben Stiller’s character in Greenberg, the indie comedy where Baumbach and Gerwig first met. Gerwig has a bit of a thankless role, existing mostly as a punching bag for Stiller’s creative verbal abuse. It’s still an enjoyable watch, even though Baumbach didn’t yet see—and take advantage of—Gerwig’s own sharp wit.
3
DIRECTOR: Noah Baumbach
WRITER: Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig
STARS: Greta Gerwig, Lola Kirke
You can tell that the creative juices were flowing when Baumbach and Gerwig cooked up the Mistress America protagonist, a 30-something New Yorker named Brooke who is a self-described freelance interior designer, an aspiring restaurant owner, and an altogether insufferable person. She reads like a savage satire of the filmmaking duo’s most annoying friends. And yet, somehow Baumbach and Gerwig work their storytelling magic to make you empathize with Brooke all the same. It’s undoubtedly an underrated, laugh-out-loud funny Gerwig-and-Baumbach collab.
2
DIRECTOR: Greta Gerwig
WRITER: Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach
STARS: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling
Barbie is unlike anything either Gerwig or Baumbach has ever done before. (White Noise is likely the closest comparison on this list, which makes sense, given it is the most recent release.) Yes, there is a musical number, which Baumbach has clearly been itching for after he made Adam Driver sing Sondheim in Marriage Story. The script is nothing short of savage, with a full 20 minutes dedicated to Gerwig systemically taking film bros down a peg. But above all, Barbie is candy-coated fun with a healthy dose of feminism baked into the center. We have no choice but to stan.
1
DIRECTOR: Noah Baumbach
WRITER: Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig
STARS: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner
Look, it’s not Barbie‘s fault that I saw Frances Ha at a pivotal period in my life, when I found myself drifting and yearning for the simplicity of higher education. But I did, and so this beautiful little black-and-white indie—starring Gerwig as a twenty-something dancer whose life is upended when her best friend decides to grow up without her—will always be my favorite Gerwig-and-Baumbach collab. It’s The Graduate for millennials, and it’s a perfect mash-up of Baumbach’s mumblecore intellectualism and Gerwig’s endearing naïveté.
