Film

Listen Up Philip

Name: Listen Up Philip
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 2014
Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Elisabeth Moss, Jonathan Pryce, Krysten Ritter, Joséphine de la Baume

Drama

A writer so consumed by his own grievances that he doesn't notice how thoroughly he's destroying everyone around him. Listen Up Philip is a pitch-black comedy about narcissism, ambition, and the gap between how we see ourselves and how we actually behave. It's precise, uncomfortable, and funny in the way that makes you squirm.

TMDb rating

2.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy cutting, talky comedies about a self-absorbed artist who is hard to like, and you'd rather study his bad behavior up close than be asked to root for him.

Skip it if you need likable leads or a story that moves briskly, since this is mostly prickly conversation and sour self-regard, and its pleasures are small and acidic.

What it asks of you: Brisk at 109 minutes, it stays inside a difficult man's irritation rather than easing it, so the discomfort lingers for its whole length.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Synecdoche, New York2008

Charlie Kaufman's portrait of an artist so lost in his own head that reality becomes irrelevant. Same precision, same refusal to comfort the audience, same brilliant unraveling of a man who mistakes self-absorption for depth.

But It's demanding and abstract. The three-hour runtime and nested narratives will lose you if you're not locked in. Some find it indulgent.

A Serious Man2009

The Coen Brothers examining a man slowly understanding that his problems are largely his own fault. Darkly comic, structurally clever, and completely uninterested in letting anyone off easy—including the audience.

But It's bleak. There's no cathartic redemption, and the tone stays cold. If you want warmth or answers, this will frustrate you.

Curb Your Enthusiasm2000

Larry David as a version of himself who says what everyone's thinking and ruins everything as a result. If you loved watching Philip make terrible choices, this is ten seasons of the same delicious train wreck, episode by episode.

But The premise gets repetitive. Larry learns nothing across the series, which is the point—but it can feel thin after a few seasons.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Listen Up Philip

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Phantom of the Opera1925

Both are portraits of men whose genius (real or imagined) doesn't excuse their capacity to harm; both are fascinated by the performance of self-pity.

Lon Chaney's masterwork of a man so consumed by his own genius and entitlement that he destroys everyone around him to satisfy his vision. It's Gothic and operatic where Philip is neurotic and contemporary, but the engine is identical: narcissism as tragedy.

But It's silent film from a century ago. If you're impatient with convention or need dialogue and explicit emotion, the register will feel alien. Some find the gender politics difficult to stomach now.

The Sunset Limited2011

Cormac McCarthy adapting his own play: two men in a room, one saved from suicide, neither understanding the other. Spare, intense, and completely unafraid of philosophizing without providing answers. Pure dialogue and ideas.

But It's one room, two people, ninety minutes of talk. If you need plot or movement, this is visual purgatory. Some find McCarthy's ideas more interesting than the men delivering them.

Louie2010

Louis C.K. dissecting his own awfulness with surgical precision and real tenderness. It mines the same territory as Philip—the gap between how we see ourselves and reality—but with moments of unexpected grace that Philip never allows itself.

But It's uneven. Some episodes are brilliant, others feel like sketches that didn't land. And Louis's later work has made rewatching complicated for some viewers.

Greenberg2010

Noah Baumbach again, this time with Ben Stiller as a man so damaged by his own failures that he weaponizes his neuroses against everyone trying to help him. Uncomfortable, smart, and Stiller's best dramatic performance.

But It's slow and airless. Stiller's character is repellent, and the film never quite tips into catharsis. Some see it as self-pitying rather than self-aware.

The Death of Stalin2017

Armando Iannucci's savage comedy about powerful men who can't see past their own egos, even as they're plotting to destroy each other. Same dark glee in watching narcissists fail, but with historical stakes and a British sensibility.

But It's a political satire disguised as a historical film. If the Kremlin power struggle doesn't interest you, the humor might feel obscure. Black and white didn't age as well as intended for some.

Cléo from 5 to 71962

Both use a narrow timeframe to expose how thoroughly a person can misunderstand their own situation; both are about performance and the self-narratives we construct.

Agnes Varda's 90-minute real-time film about a woman waiting for test results, but it's really about the gap between how we perform ourselves and who we actually are. It's the anti-Philip: anxious, female, and genuinely seeking connection rather than isolation.

But It's glacially paced by modern standards. Nothing happens, then more nothing happens. The French New Wave aesthetic doesn't click for everyone, and some find the passivity maddening.