Movie Review - Shrink (2009)

Starring Kevin Spacey, Dallas Roberts, Keke Palmer, Mark Webber, Saffron Burrows, Pell James, Jesse Plemons, Robert Loggia, and Robin Williams
Written by Thomas Moffett
Directed by Jonas Pate

Moderate spoilers ahead...although these plot points are discussed within the first 20 minutes of the film...

Right off the bat, let me say that I have a few problems with this movie, most important being that one of the most pivotal plot points felt incredibly forced. However, this little flick that I had heard next to nothing about won me over because of some winning performances and a great combination of humor and pathos.

Kevin Spacey is Henry Carter, a shrink who has written a book about how to be happy in life. Guess what? He's not really happy. His wife has recently committed suicide and he has turned to marijuana to quell his emotional pains. The flick is one of those multiple-character arc movies (like Crash but on a much lesser scale) where several patients come into Henry's office and then end up interacting with each other. In some movies, these interactions feel forced, but here, for the most part, they work. Patrick (Dallas Roberts) is a Hollywood talent agent/producer who is afraid of everything. Jemma (Keke Palmer) is a high school student obsessed with movies and unable to emotionally come to grips with her mother's suicide. Kate (Saffron Burrows) is an aging Hollywood actress (if being in your 30s is aging...I'm in trouble in a year...) who is having trouble in her marriage to a rock star. As I said above, eventually, several of these folks will find their story arcs combining by the film's end.

My biggest problem with the film is that I never felt the connection that I felt I should between Henry and Jemma, two people who lost those they loved to suicide. The movie is definitely pushing this as the emotional peak, but I never really got there with it. It doesn't help that the film gets to that high point via a weird interaction between Jemma and Henry's godson, Jeremy (Marc Webber), a struggling screenwriter who finds inspiration in the young troubled girl.

You would think that if I had issues with a major plot point, I wouldn't particularly care for the film, however, the flick still worked for me for some odd reason. In part, it's due to some winning performances. Spacey, whom I haven't seen since 2007's Fred Claus (and let's not go there...I'm not counting his pretty darn good voiceover work in Moon), is impressive as the struggling doc. His opening scene had me doubting the role, but he won me over within minutes. Jesse Plemons as Henry's pot supplier provided quite a bit of laughter, as did an extended cameo from Robin Williams (he was still kind of doing is off-the-wall schtick, but it worked for me). However, the star of the show was Dallas Roberts. His neurotic Patrick was a hoot and this (to me anyway) unknown actor stole the show from the talented Spacey.

Obviously, the film isn't perfect, but I liked it. It was a nice mix of comedy and drama, and it certainly kept my attention throughout thanks to those performances mentioned.

The RyMickey Rating: B