At one point in his writing, directing and starring effort, Jeff Garlin talks about “the magic of self-loathing.” That may not sound like the makings of an enjoyable comedy, but it is. Garlin is a garrulous, self-deprecating personality, but here the self-deprecation takes on a poignant edge. Ashamed of being overweight but constantly joking about it, Garlin’s James, a Chicago comic who lives with his mother, spends each night nursing his romantic and professional disappointments by sitting on the hood of his car and furtively eating junk food. Structured around a series of seemingly trivial conversations that James has with friends and acquaintances, I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With follows its endearing hero as he gradually meanders to a healthier mental place. This is about as small as movies get, yet often, unexpectedly, as moving.
