The plot is simple and well tried - a group of seemingly unconnected people become connected for good or for bad by means of a common denominator - in this case Kevin Spacey, who is a 'Shrink to the Stars'; but a shrink who himself is so lost through the death of his wife that he himself can't cope. He needs more help than they do. Even his father, who is... yes, you guessed it... a shrink, can't seem to do much to help.
The movie is set in L.A. and does a great job in reinforcing the picture that the rest of the world has about many people in L.A. (especially those who are Hollywood connected), who seem always to be wallowing in a mix of self-pity and helplessness, and who are dependent on drugs and shrinks (or should that be shrinks who are themselves dependent on something or somebody else?).
I don't rate 'SHRINK'. Kevin does his very best to deliver weak lines and he must have been fed up that the director could only think to show how screwed up he was by making him either slump in a chair for hours endlessly puffing on cigarettes and marijuana, or sitting for days in car with a low life drug pusher gaining buying both more drugs and homespun therapy. In fact the director struggles throughout to make something of this script and screen play. Probably because he is tasked with showing people having problems who really don't have any bigger problems than millions of others around the world in or outside L.A. Robin Williams appears in a cameo role as... well himself, as far as I could tell. His appearance adds no weight to the movie whatsoever (in fact the opposite) and the producers should have saved his fees and given a less well known actor a chance. The feel-good ending is nothing more than a convenient way to finish. No. The director of SHRINK should not be too proud of himself. As a movie, Shrink fails to deliver any meaningfull story or memorable experience. The only smiley aspect of the whole production was the movie producer character who is paranoid over cleanliness and calamity. That added a light humorous touch, but it was not enough to redeem the director in general and he should never be forgiven for the unimaginative way he handled the 'kicking over the motorcycle' scene. Even my parrot knew that was coming.
Shrink fails to convince the viewer that anyone in the story has such a serious problem that can't be solved by sipping a nice cup of tea and chatting with a sensible friend.
Watch it but don't expect too much.
The movie is set in L.A. and does a great job in reinforcing the picture that the rest of the world has about many people in L.A. (especially those who are Hollywood connected), who seem always to be wallowing in a mix of self-pity and helplessness, and who are dependent on drugs and shrinks (or should that be shrinks who are themselves dependent on something or somebody else?).
I don't rate 'SHRINK'. Kevin does his very best to deliver weak lines and he must have been fed up that the director could only think to show how screwed up he was by making him either slump in a chair for hours endlessly puffing on cigarettes and marijuana, or sitting for days in car with a low life drug pusher gaining buying both more drugs and homespun therapy. In fact the director struggles throughout to make something of this script and screen play. Probably because he is tasked with showing people having problems who really don't have any bigger problems than millions of others around the world in or outside L.A. Robin Williams appears in a cameo role as... well himself, as far as I could tell. His appearance adds no weight to the movie whatsoever (in fact the opposite) and the producers should have saved his fees and given a less well known actor a chance. The feel-good ending is nothing more than a convenient way to finish. No. The director of SHRINK should not be too proud of himself. As a movie, Shrink fails to deliver any meaningfull story or memorable experience. The only smiley aspect of the whole production was the movie producer character who is paranoid over cleanliness and calamity. That added a light humorous touch, but it was not enough to redeem the director in general and he should never be forgiven for the unimaginative way he handled the 'kicking over the motorcycle' scene. Even my parrot knew that was coming.
Shrink fails to convince the viewer that anyone in the story has such a serious problem that can't be solved by sipping a nice cup of tea and chatting with a sensible friend.
Watch it but don't expect too much.