  ShrinkMPAA Rating:
 for drug content throughout, and pervasive language including some sexual references._____
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience:
Adults
Genre:
Drama
Length:
1 hr. 50 min.
Year of Release:
2009
USA Release:
July 24, 2009 (2 theaters—NYC/LA)
DVD: September 29, 2009 
 
Relevant Issues
DEPRESSION—Are there biblical examples of depression and how to deal with it? Answer What should a Christian do if overwhelmed with depression? Answer Drunkenness in the Bible FEAR, Anxiety and Worry… What does the Bible say? Answer Why does God allow innocent people to suffer? Answer What about the issue of suffering? Doesn’t this prove that there is no God and that we are on our own? Answer Does God feel our pain? Answer ORIGIN OF BAD—How did bad things come about? Answer
Why is there a disconnect between Hollywood and the rest of America? Answer What is being done to change the values of Hollywood? Answer
“The doctor is out.” Producer’s synopsis: “What happens when the people we count on to hold us together… are barely holding it together themselves? Jonas Pate’s ‘Shrink’ is a striking, fast-paced exposé of the ‘other” Hollywood, featuring folks living outside their comfort zone and the people who put them there.
Volunteer reviewer needed for this movie—Request this assignment See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.   Comments below:
Positive
none Negative
Negative—A collage story about the life of an LA psychiatrist, whose wife committed suicide. He slips into addiction gradually and the drugs nearly take his life. The life of his patients is also mixed into the storyline. Acting is very good, but movie quality is poor. Intermittent stories, linked in a very abstract way, which is often very hard to follow.
Lots of foul language, the f-word is said every 10 or so seconds. The bright spot of the movie: one is immersed in atmosphere of dysfunction and can really empathize with the inner sufferings of the Hollywood crowd. Human pain, feeling contrite and willingness to change one’s life against impossible odds—make the movie of at least some value. Bottom line: I don’t see why I would watch this movie again. Cannot recommend it to anyone. Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2½ —Jay Smith, age 41 (Canada) Movie Critics
…the vacuous nature of some of the characters—Patrick, notably, with his vile combination of neurosis and cruelty—seem to have no point. Or none for anyone outside psychiatry or the film biz. There must have been a carrot behind the stick that got all these folks together—perhaps Pate’s agreeable nature. Actors are allowed to vent their inner ham to their heart’s content.…
—John Anderson, Variety …Kevin Spacey brings another of his cynical, bitter characters to life—very smart, and fresh out of hope—but the movie doesn’t give him much of anywhere to take it.… “Shrink" contains ideas for a film, but no emotional center. A group of troubled characters are assembled and allowed to act out, not to much purpose.…
—Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times …A ridiculous twist of fate, without a feel for reality… the lives of half a dozen characters intersect in ways that are serendipitous and ridiculous…
—Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Daily News …A pity-party of Hollywood narcissism… Deploying a succession of narrative coincidences that not only strains credulity but actually breaks credulity into shards of far-fetchedness…
—Steven Rea, The Philadelphia Inquirer …Our diagnosis? Narcissism… What all these people really suffer from, however, is a terminal case of the self-pity blues. The more Shrink tries to get you invested in the emotional turmoil of its characters, the more you want to reach into the screen and shake them and tell them to get over themselves.…
—Rene Rodriguez, The Miami Herald |
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