I recorded all but one of the 6 episodes of this mini-series and I could just kick myself for not having them all! It's the hilariously funny, and touchingly poignant story of a 40-something lawyer, Dan Carver, attempting to come to terms with his role as husband, father, son and quite simply as a man, with the aid of analysis. It is in fact, the story of the everyman with the lid blown off but treated in a very funny, tasteful manner.
Billy Crystal wrote, along with Fred Barron, as well as produced this mini-series and the viewer gets the idea that it's perhaps Crystal himself who is asking the questions and seeking the answers to 'what does it all mean?' (Crystal's own fetching daughter Jennifer even plays Dan's teenage daughter.) Of the major roles, the formidable Michael McKean plays Dan, Linda Kelsey plays his patient, intelligent wife, a wife any man would cut his arm off to have in fact, and Elliott Gould, in one of his finest roles, is Dan's analyst. It's perfect casting all around, especially Gould, who is totally believable as the wise, affable shrink that even the least forthcoming patient could bare their soul to. If you're an Elliott Gould fan, (and I'm an ENORMOUS fan), you'll savor his laid-back charm and thespian acumen. But you're left wanting more, to see what makes the analyst tick, to know what he's thinking, to see how his life is outside his comfortable office.
The show is innovative and daring in its honesty and deals primarily with sensitive family issues, death and sex. Parents may want to keep those certain episodes from younger viewers.
Billy Crystal again proves why he is an entertainment institution and one can only wish he had made many more 'Sessions' than just six!
