Numb (2008)

Hudson Milbank (Matthew Perry) is convinced that he's going insane. But he's just met the perfect girl (Lynn Collins, The Lake House) and struggles to be his most charming self. Meanwhile, he frantically seeks a cure for his anxieties and goes through a string of therapists who turn out to be crazier than him. Co-starring Kevin Pollak (The Usual Suspects) and Mary Steenburgen as a hilarious lusty psychiatrist, Numb will warm the heart of anybody who has ever teetered on the edge of a breakdown. Product Description

Incredibly boring film - I expected better.

I picked this movie up because Matthew Perry and Mary Steenburgen almost always deliver but this was one was a real disappointment. Matthew Perry's character is experiencing a period of depersonalization and life has gone flat - no highs, no lows. Unfortunately, the movie suffered from the same condition. He's depressed and he's looking for answers - along the way, he discovers a beautiful girl. Perry's character goes from one condescending therapist to another and that could be funny...but it isn't. The interactions with his family should add something to the plot but it really doesn't. He even breaks up with the beautiful girl and that should provide some anti-climax, but it doesn't. A little ways into the movie, Perry's character steals a pen from the drug store - the kleptomania is only a device that is needed in the break-up scene; it doesn't really get explained or resolved once it is no longer necessaryto the plot. A couple of nude shots and a ton of uses of the "F-word" are thrown in to try to keep the audience from going numb but it's like trying to revive a dying patient by sticking their tongue between the posts of a 9-volt battery, rather than using a defibrillator.

The movie kept reminding me of a couple of Bill Murray movies - "Lost in Translation" and "Broken Flowers" and I'm just not sure we really need one more movie about a jaded, self-absorbed person shuffling blandly through the lives of those around him. July 20, 2008

Fits me to a T.

Most people who view this movie will not be able to actually enjoy the movie for what is worth. I myself have "depersonalization/derealization" and the movie is pretty much my life in a nutshell. Very humorous, with a love story involved. I am just glad the director who himself suffers from this dissociative disorder, tries to spread the world about how we are here in the world without any medicine to help subside the problems and anxiety that comes from feeling like Matthew Perry does in the movie. July 2, 2008

Not bad......

I picked this up b/c it had Matthew Perry on the cover. I have always been a fan of his acting. I loved him on Friends and was curious what he could bring to another character. At times I felt almost as though I was his character..meaning..he really seemed to bring the character to life in a way that you almost felt like you were a part of it and what he was going through. His portrayal of Hudson Milbank was flawless. There were some funny scenes...I am glad I saw it and look forward to more great movies from this very talented actor. June 17, 2008

"Was That Real Enough For You?" ~ Love, Pharmacology And Finding Your Comfort Zone

Synopsis: The '08 release `Numb' stars Matthew Perry in the role of Hudson Milbank a anxiety ridden loner suffering from depersonalization disorder. Despite his own efforts to sabotage every opportunity to have a meaningful relationship he nevertheless finds himself dating Sarah, a beautiful, successful and obviously love struck young woman who pursues him in spite of all his psychological shortcomings. Will Hudson continue to be his own worst enemy and find himself alone once again or will he finally pull himself together and find the happiness that has eluded him all his life?

Critique: This is a rather low budget film you've probably never heard of. You probably wouldn't consider renting this one either except for the fact that is stars the talented Matthew Perry. At least that's what attracted me to this film. I have to say I was rather pleasantly surprised and would like to say, "Thanks Matthew". `Numb' is definitely a dark comedy with a kick. It's kind of like watching a Woody Allen film without the New York accent and the Jewish affiliation. If you're familiar with Woody's body of work you know exactly what I'm talking about. You might say it's "Angst for Anglos" (is that politically incorrect?).

If you're a Matthew Perry fan you're sure to enjoy it and fan or not you'll definitely fall in love with Lynn Collins in the role of Sarah. May 26, 2008

Living a dream that lost its meaning

In the director's commentary, Harris Goldberg says that people have responded to this movie for three reasons: 1)The Love Story. 2)The Actors' performances and/or 3)For the depiction of Depersonalization. There are a core group of people who identify with the story and are glad to see depersonalization depicted on film. As Goldberg states, it tends to help people to see this movie and realize, "Oh, I'm not the only one."

Matthew Perry performs admirably as Hudson Milbank. Hudson still knows what is real and what is not real although the whole shebang doesn't FEEL real to him anymore. He can live "as if" he is fine and in many cases people may not realize there is anything wrong with him. If anything appears odd about him it is that he seems overly anxious, overly spacey, and that he tends to tell store clerks that life feels unreal. He seems intent on figuring out what is going on with him and to find someone who knows what he is talking about. Anybody who has experienced depersonalization knows what this is like. I think Matthew Perry, as well as writer/director Harris Goldberg, were correct in playing less is more for most of this. There are also specific things in this portrayal which were particular and familiar, such as Hudson counting the number of days he'd lived and how many he was likely yet to live.

This is the first movie I recall seeing where the main character has depersonalization disorder. (this is amazing considering how many other conditions have been explored on film through the years.) I wonder if the world and others are catching up with the depersonalization experience and/or it is becoming more common and/or understood. Or perhaps it is simply that more people are now using the diagnostic name. Writers have written about unreality and the dream-like experience of life for ages, as have meditators and mystics...(see also all the movies about dreams, dream-like realities, life-being-like-a-dream) So is depersonalization a disorder, or a major factor of being human?

I think people who want a cute Matthew Perry movie that is funny and sweet may not get entirely what they expect. "Numb" could have been marketed more like another truthful and funny (as in the humor that comes from pain and from daily and mundane life as well) movie -- The Savages.

In sound-bites Numb sounds like a movie about a man trying to get well in order to "win the girl" in a kind of mad dash through psychiatry-- Well, it is more complicated than that, and for one thing it seems more about a man who is trying to get well so he can feel alive and experience his life. Being in love is a big part of that, but you can't feel anything when you are depersonalized, even when it is right in front of you.

Although you may not think it would be, this is a hopeful film.
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** A couple asides: there are two other books about dissociation in addition to "Feeling Unreal" -- called "The Myth of Sanity" and "The Stranger in the Mirror" There may be more, but these are others I've found.

**To clarify something other reviewers mentioned, in the movie Hudson states he had a predisposition to depersonalization before he smoked marijuana, although marijuana, as well as some of the medications and antipsychotics he is prescribed later in the movie don't seem to help and/or exacerbate his sense of unreality.

**The interactions between Hudson and his parents are extraordinary. Well-written, spot on.

May 20, 2008

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