Made it through episode 4 and I think I'm done. Well acted, but watching someone be slowly swindled out of their money turns out to be painfully boring. Probably would have fared better as a movie or miniseries.
This was… different. The acting in this is top notch, as to be expected with this cast. But that’s one of the few positives for me. The story is just so depressing. I get that that’s the point of this show, but damn… it’s hard to watch this unfold. It’s interesting, but not fun at all. It gets a 6/10 for me, mostly for the performances.
When I first heard about this show, and the casting, I was "oh man - this is going to be GREAT!!!"
And then watched it....
This is sort of like The Office comedy - uncomfortable to watch at times, but you have a few chuckles.
But as the show moves on, you start to see what is wrong with this toxic Therapist - Patient relationship. Taking advantage of the weak, to better yourself and stroke your own ego. Engaging in inappropriate business enterprises that goes against the licensing rules. And the mental manipulation of the patient, to leave their family behind.
I've have experience this time of mental abuse and manipulation with a family member. The "why dont you stop talking with your family". The "Hey, how about you pay my bills and I give you something in return". The "make me the person in charge of your money, business and everything else, and you go enjoy your _________".
Seeing this going on in the show really started to trigger those feelings - I enjoyed the show less and less and was angry more and more. But the last two episdoes - they helped to show that there is a future for Marty, and that Dr Ike will ended up paying for his crimes
If you want a humorous story of the patient - therapist relationship, stick with "What About Bob?"
Well acted and scary what a master manipulator can do with power. Would definitely recommend as I think it's relateable, everyone knows someone who can convince others easily (to some degree).
Dramedy is such an odd choice for this true story. Will Farrell and Paul Rudd are just excellent. However, the story showing the breakdown of trust between patient and physician is just too overwhelming to enjoy their performances. It might have been more successful as a horror story.
Building a complex relationship between the protagonists, the manipulative power exercised by the psychiatrist is similar to that of the spiritual leader of a sect. There is a certain ambiguity that is well reflected above all by the extraordinary performance of Paul Rudd, and indeed the central episodes are repetitive. But the series achieves a difficult balance between black comedy and existential drama that establishes a risky path that is not entirely successful but seeks a different proposal.
The first half of the season was a lot stronger, writing-wise, than the latter half, with the finale being the weakest episode of them all.
Overall, it was a very authentic look into how a narcissist lures and holds someone into a codependent relationship.
I dunno about you but I didn't even make it through the first episode of this show. Big name actors who are apparently doing a passion project
I am up to the latest episode (6) and so far, each episode is the same concept on repeat.
A man gets emotionally manipulated and abused by a therapist that takes advantage of people and essentially lives life through others. It's painful to watch, it's labeled as a comedy and it's not funny at all. It's frustrating, sad, and angering. There are 2 episodes left and I don't see how this will have any payoff that will have made this worth watching. Each episode thus far adds nothing new, it's the same scenario where Ike cons Marty out of his money over and over.
This didn't have enough camp to make it fun, or enough drama to make it interesting.
This was a harrowing watch, nothing about this was comedy. No idea why it was tagged as such. Watching the manipulation unfold was stomach churning.
Not very interesting... it's like they were trying to do Woody Allen on a bad day. One episode was enough.
Review by hannahBlockedParent2021-12-21T08:16:26Z
first, since the show never gives any kind of message in this way: for anyone who's ambivalent to or already has negative opinions or therapy, please know that finding a safe, ethical therapist who knows just how important the doctor-patient relationship truly is can be difficult but is also highly rewarding. i've been in therapy a number of years and during stressful times i may go once a week, while most of the time i'm happy to go every month or two months. i take medication for anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder but therapy is what gave me the ability to actually live and thrive—medication was also necessary, but simply allows me to function. the shrink next door and the real events behind it are horrifying, but trust me when i say that they are not representative of all therapy, and that if you ever think you might need to talk to a professional, to please look into your options. it's not just for people who have mental illnesses and it's not just for people with trauma. everyone, truly, can benefit from it.
onto the review:
not a terrible watch, but i do think the investigative podcast into the story was the right format for this kind of thing. it wasn't enjoyable to watch as a piece of entertainment. it's very sad and disappointing, much like the real story is.
i will say that the end, with the epilogue text, was my least favorite aspect of the series. ending on the note "marty has never returned to therapy" is troubling—i don't expect the man to ever feel safe doing so. but the message isn't a clear one. you can't tell whether they're saying this because they want you to be mistrustful of therapeutic processes or because they want to illustrate the damage that can be done by an unethical therapist. that lack of clarity is irresponsible, as people can be put off of the idea of therapy very easily, despite it being an incredibly valuable and important tool. it seems a little silly to say, but i think that this show would have benefited from the pre or post credit call to action that a lot of netflix shows have implemented regarding traumatic subject matter. even as someone who has a very positive relationship with therapy, watching this (and listening to the podcast) was difficult.