TV Review: The Shrink Next Door Is DARK Comedy
When I look at con-men, even the “charming serial killers,” they lure their victims via their prey’s own need and desire for love and approval. For all that I see #wellness and promotions of self-love, most people are neither well or self-loving. In truth, they are desperate for someone to “see” them and give them the kindness they cannot give themselves. Enter the “con-man,” to provide their soul with the sweet words it desires so that they can get what THEY want. In “The Shrink Next Door,” Apple TV Plus, premiering November 12, kind of cons us into believing we are going to see a comedy when, in fact, this show is a slow-motion tragedy with two “funny guys” helming its drama.
Watching Will Ferrell as Marty reminded me of Robin Williams taking up dark, twisted roles that, in some ways, show the difference between a “comedic” versus a “dramatic” character is who is pitying him. In comedy, the audience pities you, but, in a drama, a character pities himself, and Marty has a WHOLE LOT OF SELF-PITY! Enter Paul Rudd’s Ike to become the most charming, unscrupulous guy to waltz on screen and emotionally manipulate a self-loathing. Naturally, Paul Rudd always comes off like such a cool guy, which is why your growing dislike of Ike will even shock you. Yet, that is the thing about con-men…. their glamor, eventually, fades. Still, when the “con” is coming from your shrink it can feel like a slow-burn.
In a way, it is genius. Imagine if your therapist weaponized your secrets and feelings for his own wealth…. wait a minute…. Are they doing that already? Nevermind! Dr. Ike takes over Marty’s relationships including with his sister; Kathryn Hahn as the fiery Phyllis trying to wake Marty up from how much his self-loathing sabotages him. Your therapist should never want to become consultant at your company to dictate your relationship with your workers or invite himself to each of your outings. Rudd is phenomenally enigmatic; never unpacking the layers of Dr. Ike beyond his embedded god-complex, which, as a person who loved a con, seems right. We love to think that con-men have some sort of “depth,” but they are egotistical to have that, which is why they are able to manipulate you. They see you are more than what you allow yourself to be, and, for nearly two decades, Marty allows Ike to define his “more” and you watch how
a grown man, if insecure, can really let himself be taken.
