Numb

Since the 'friends' era (someone was bound to bring it up), Perry's films have always shared the typical romance/comedy element, although I must nuance by saying the emphasis tended to differ, but now it seems that Matt has chosen a different path, trying to prove himself as a serious actor in drama's, although he hasn't fully abjured comedy (not that he should, as long as it remains tasteful). The recent 'The Ron Clark Story' proved to be a big hit in the rose and 'Numb' was the next logical step, providing him with a more challenging and diverse role even namely a screenwriter having to deal with a peculiar form of depression; 'depersonalization'.

Judging the authenticity of his performance is very hard, seeing that I, like most people, have never heard of the condition in question. I do believe most reviews coming from people suffering from it or having suffered from it in the past were predominantly positive. Perry's natural charm and his impression of being clumsy have to be suppressed, and having dealt with depression in real life the actor can dig into his own experience to come up with a real life character, and he does so with furore, wisely underplaying and steering away from his typical comedy style, meanwhile the film still has a lot of off beat comedy moments to lighten the material at hand a bit, certainly a welcome comical relief.

The low-key tone of the film might make it difficult for some people to access, but I would still recommend it to most people.

7.7/10

I have been rooting around for sometime now for a movie that would speak to the inertia that has settled over me in various cycles during the last decade or so. This would be a movie that would address the issue of being a potentially gifted person, but who is stunned by the oppressiveness of modern life: frightening economy, unpredictable jobs, the no-rules relational chaos of post-modernism.

The last movie I saw that got to this was "Wonder Boys," about an insightful English professor who couldn't function because of being emotionally stunned. While it is flawed and at times, forcing itself too much on you, "Numb" is that great new movie that gets into the struggle for identity.

Matthew Perry does a convincing job as Hudson Milbank, a modern LA freelance writer, trying to find meaning and connection. The film cleverly dances in and out of his early life, showing his times with fittingly remote and narcissistic parents, especially a destructive mother who is played perfectly by Helen Shaver, a great Canadian actress who masterfully conjures cold, chipper, semi-ice-queen figures.

It also has a hysterical and realistically frightening bit about a highly credentialed psychiatrist, Dr. Cheryl Blaine, played ably by Mary Steenburgen, who has her own bout with borderline syndrome and sexaholic tendencies, which she can't seem to restrain from unleashing on Hudson, who seeks her help with his condition.

The funniest line of the movie comes when she chases him out of a restaurant in a predatory moment, asking him about his family. To which Hudson, in a mid-trot, grunts to Tom, his writer sidekick played by Kevin Pollack: "uh...run." You can't decide whether Dr. Blaine is funny or terrifying, maybe the scariest female character since Sharon Stone in "Basic Instinct."

There are so many familiar handles in this movie, I can't even remember them all. Besides the out-of-control, counter-transferring female therapist, let's see...there was

-- Spending most of your leisure life in bed being hooked on one brand of inanely topical TV, in this case, The Golf Channel. Many of us have our times escaping into with some kind of nerdy TV; mine is The Weather Channel, for my ex, it is The Fishing Channel, and an old roommate couldn't live without The Military Channel.

-- Trying an unending series of anti-depressants, thinking you will find one magic pill to fix you. Hudson becomes so much a regular at the HMO pharmacy, that we see the pharmacist playfully wishing him luck with his latest prescription.

-- Being up and out at 4 a.m., insisting this is the only time you really feel good about the world.

And there are many more moments I recognize in this movie that come from the benumbing, joyless periods that seem to settle in on us. without answers, at various times in the post-modern world.

What director Harris Goldberg does that is so helpful is he makes many of the trapped moments funny and he resists offering up a trite resolution. Hudson finds hope in certain things and soon abandons them, going on to his next illusory beacon. It is a waiting game until he finds the next bit of relief, kind of like real life.

The movie is absolutely superb, it has everything, its fun to watch Mathew Perry again and he has done a tremendous job, Goldberg, what can I say about him, he's fantastic as an writer & director & I think its his own story.

The movie is about a guy named Hudson who has depersonalized disorder & how he comes face to face to face his fear lolz, its funny & at the same time has a strong message in it.

Mathew Perry has done a superb job, I think he deserves an award for this movie, its been a treat to watch him on big screen after his successful series of friends.

Go & watch this movie, its worth it.

I saw this at the Austin Film Festival and thought it was one of the best romantic comedies I have seen in years--and from the most unlikely source material. Beautifully written with a light hand, it exploits extreme situations for humor but always goes beyond simple shock value and superficial, quirky tics. (This writer has had enough of movies like Superbad and Knocked Up, which wear audiences out with shock humor, and I didn't see the point of Napolean Dynamite, in which minimalist, oddball moments fail to accrete to a real story.) Numb is instead an eccentric, hilarious film with depth, heart and soul. The tone was spot on: though based on deeply painful autobiographical material, Numb is never maudlin or pathetic. And Matthew Perry is outstanding--prevented from being outlandishly Matthew Perry ("Zero," the director reportedly commanded him. "Nothing. You're numb."), it seemed he was forced to funnel his comic genius into tiny, brilliant moments. A gem of film.

Goldberg's 'Numb' tells an intense and funny 'tale' of a writer suffering from depersonalized disorder while facing other difficulties (his kleptomania, his dysfunctional family, his love). This is no disease-of-the-weak movie that preaches about a sickness because Goldberg adds plenty of humour that is dark, satirical, subtle, dry and adult while keeping us entertained from start to finish. He also keeps us involved in Hudson's life. I wonder how much of it is based on Goldberg's own experience. The dialogues are funny, witty and clever. Though the movie does sort of mock psychologists and psychiatrists (in a hilarious way) but the problems surrounding the disorder and the central character's anguish is well depicted and people will recognize them as almost everyone has felt depersonalized at least for one moment or another. Matthew Perry's excellence in comedy is already well known and here it was great to see him act on a more intense level. The actor can definitely do more than comedy (as was also evident in 'Birds Of America'). I think it is the first time I heard him say the 'F' word. His understated performance as Hudson draws sympathy from the viewer but also laughter during the lighter moments. Of the 'Friends' lead cast, only Perry along with Lisa Kudrow and Courteney Cox seem to have 'grown' as actors. Lynn Collins holds her own and has a good screen presence. Mary Steenburgen is laugh-out-loud hilarious as the steamy 50+ psychologist who hasn't done 'it' in seven years. Thus, 'Numb' was a fun and enlightening watch. Goldberg and Perry have done a superb job and this is one movie I definitely would be revisiting soon.