The Shrink Next Door Review: An Irregular But Magnetic Dramedia Based On Incredible True Events
Director: Michael Showalter
Star Cast: Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Kathryn Hahn, Casey Wilson
Streaming Platform: Apple Tv+ (watch here)
Ratings: 3/5 (three star) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
There are stories so bizarre and Martian that they are hard to believe even when you know they are true. This is the case of the event behind the new Apple TV+ series The Shrink Next Door. For three decades a Jewish businessman named Marty Markowitz had a sickly dependent relationship with the psychiatrist Isaac Hersch Kopf, Ike for his friends and famous patients including, for example, Gywneth Paltrow. Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd are the face of a disturbing story that is closer to the drama than to the comedies that have characterized the careers of its protagonists.
The Shrink Next Door Review: The Story
Marty (Will Ferrell) is a millionaire and head of a family textile factory. He is single, he lives alone and his insecurities prevent him from moving forward in many aspects of his life. It is then that he decides to go to Dr. Ike (Paul Rudd), a charming and manipulative therapist with somewhat atypical therapy techniques. As soon as he smells the wealth and the stink of insecurity that Marty emanates, Ike takes advantage of any self-interest to turn it around and transform it into a problem that the protagonist must solve, thus achieving his goal and becoming the kind of person who advises avoiding his patients. In this way, the doctor begins to alienate his loved ones, spend his money and control his business … Come on, what is known as a manual sucker. Thus, little by little he ends up completely minimizing Marty until he becomes his butler disguised as a ‘friend’. Of course, this is allowed to be bossed around without qualms for 30 years.
Not that these are too demanding roles for either actor. Of course it cannot be denied that they are better than ever here and that the chemistry between the two keeps the series on its feet during most of its stretches. Rudd is in his sauce by being charismatic and getting angry from time to time as he uncovers every layer of his character. For his part, Farrell has to play the same old man, only with a touch more sweetness and relaxation than usual. Also, there is another interesting side relationship involving Marty and his sister Phyllis (Kathryn Hahn). She feels more responsible for her brother than she should, which makes her torn between the fear of losing him and her growing desire to get rid of everything. Hahn again proves that she is a fantastic actress and it is a shame that she appears less than many of us would like.
The Shrink Next Door Review and Analysis
‘The Shrink Next Door’ is a correct miniseries that manages to entertain and tell its story without much fanfare. Fiction wants to be funny and charming, but at the same time it tries to remind us of its painful background based on black comedy and laughter that is somewhat uncomfortable and difficult to avoid. However, it fails to settle on extreme. Also the script sometimes seems to wander a bit around the same ideas and situations. At the end of the day, Marty is susceptible, vulnerable and affectively dependent while Dr. Ike is a narcissistic shark, so we are facing a toxic relationship that follows a repetitive pattern: proposal, denial, pressure, conviction, anger, flattery … Therefore, directors Michael Showalter (Tammy Faye’s Eyes) and Jesse Peretz (Juliet, naked) exploit a wide number of similar events over the years, but they ensure that all these dynamics are not too repetitive.
What’s more, as the episodes progress, its darkness increases and an addictive intrigue is generated. And it is still impressive that something like this can happen for so many years and above all, that everyone prefers to look the other way and no one does anything to remedy it when the matter is so obvious. In fact, although without delving too deeply into the psyche of its characters, the series shows the fragility and dependence of the human being in the face of loneliness or lack of affection, a problem that can lead us to waste our lives due to a bad decision. Here, that choice is not to impose ourselves and others in time. Therefore, the most painful thing in this miniseries is realizing that for some things it may be too late. Thank goodness that loved ones, the real ones, those whose affection is truly reciprocal, will always be there to give us another chance if we ever make the mistake of walking away.
The Last Words
The Shrink Next Door is a series that goes from the magnetic (thanks to the duels of its great protagonists, especially Ferrell) to the inconsistent (starting with the duration of its episodes, which start for half an hour and end up between 42 and 50 minutes) that never gets to answer some of the questions that are raised along the way. Perhaps because, like life itself, there is not always a logical answer to things that are not.
