Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell are a mesmerizing duo in the unsettling Shrink Next Door
The Anchorman stars reunite for Apple TV Plus’ oddly hypnotic dramedy based on a heartbreaking real-life story
TV Reviews Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd will probably never age, so The Shrink Next Door gives him a hand. The new Apple TV+ series chronicles how Rudd’s Dr. Isaac “Ike” Herschkopf manipulates and invades into the personal life of his patient Martin “Marty” Markowitz’s (Will Ferrell) over 30 years. We watch as Dr. Ike goes from a cocky, Ralph-Lauren-shirt-loving therapist in the ’80s to a cocky, gray-haired senior citizen in present day.
It’s bewildering to see Ike promptly take over the finances of an unwitting Marty, who doesn’t realize he is giving up control of his business, family, and relationships in the name of a less-than-authentic friendship. It’s even worse knowing that this is a disturbing true story, which inspired journalist Joe Nocero’s popular 2019 podcast of the same name. Even for those familiar only with the broad strokes of what real-life Marty Markowitz went through, the series presents the frustrating case with great detail and insight.
The Shrink Next Door (and its source material) is a crushing cautionary tale about the importance of choosing the right therapist. No one is more vulnerable than while in therapy, which is meant to be a safe space to air out feelings, desires, and secrets without being judged. Ike quickly weaponizes his patient’s grief and insecurities. Marty recently lost his parents, his uncle is contesting his ability to run the family textile business, and he’s prone to panic attacks in social situations. Instead of helping him overcome these challenges, Ike amplifies them to become the only person in Marty’s orbit left to trust.
Any notions of patient-therapist boundaries are thrown out the window in the first episode. It’s clear that Ike’s congenial smile and attitude is an artful deception. He is far more conniving and selfish than any of his patients realize. The audience is aware from the get-go, so it’s alarming and oddly fascinating to witness the doctor charm his way into Marty’s world; it’s like watching a car crash in slow motion.
Ike quickly realizes Marty hails from a wealthy Jewish family, in contrast to his own scrappy upbringing; he pines for the lavish life he never had. The writers don’t drag out Ike’s motivations for conning his way into his clients’ lives: His ego and bank account constantly need boosting. To make his work easier, Ike tries to get photos with celebrities when he can—Brooke Shields, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Farrah Fawcett get shout-outs, while Lisa Rinna has a cameo. He isn’t acting on whims or delusions. The good doctor is a full-on scam artist.
The situation between the two escalates from Marty paying for his newfound therapist’s framed photos when the latter “forgets” his wallet, to Ike settling into Marty’s Hamptons beach house with his wife, Bonnie (Casey Wilson), and their twin daughters. Ike also renovates the house with Marty’s money to use as a theme party paradise under the guise of networking for the foundation the two have started. Imagine your therapist turning into your best friend and your business partner? It’s a nightmare.
The biggest question stemming from the show, and from the real Marty’s unfortunate journey, is why he let this happen to him for so long. Can a therapist really trick a seemingly intelligent client into paying $20,000 for an autographed baseball? It sounds implausible, but Ike’s control over all his patients is equivalent to that of a cult leader. For the first time in a long while, Marty gains confidence and feels a kinship. “[Ike] cares so much, his words are empowering and liberating,” Marty explains at one point. The strong camaraderie feels like a toxic relationship, where one dominating person has the upper hand, and the other is blinded by love and devotion.
Ferrell’s surprisingly somber performance is heartbreaking throughout—it’s understandable if viewers want to just jump in and shake him out of this predicament—but his work raises the question of what anyone else would do in his position. Marty’s existential crisis makes the show effective, even more so than its moments of dark humor.
Ike eventually convinces Marty to sever ties with his well-meaning sister Phyllis (Kathryn Hahn), a single mother of three going through her own hellish divorce. Phyllis is a voice of reason in Marty’s life, helping him run the textile company along with a group of trusted employees. Hahn is only in half the episodes, but she is delightful, imbuing the dialogue with biting wit or heartfelt pain as needed.
The series immerses audiences in the lives of its lead characters in order to elicit two distinct reactions: sympathy for one, indignation for the other. The tension that grows over eight hour-long episodes can feel redundant and aggravating at times, but the payoff is well worth it.
The show’s creators and stars sat down with the real Marty in preparation, but not Ike, whose license was finally revoked earlier this year. There’s no way to know how he’ll feel about the show, but it’s hard not to think he’ll boast about a good-looking actor of Rudd’s caliber playing him. Rudd’s casting is an excellent choice because his beguiling face is easy to trust, as we’ve seen in Clueless, Friends, as Marvel’s Ant-Man movies.
The actor evolves his depiction of Ike from the disarming veneer to a total curmudgeon over the course of the season. The story is told mostly from Marty’s perspective, but the rare moments when Ike drops his act and changes his facial expressions like an old-school villain is where Rudd truly shines. The makeup and prosthetics to age both actors is well done; Rudd adds to the believability by walking like his back is always in pain.
The Shrink Next Door doesn’t go deep in examining Marty’s psyche and how he gets entangled in this mess. An overly simplistic answer comes from something Phyllis says to him: “Getting used to it is your superpower.” But Marty’s inability to say no becomes a potent source of tension. It makes the otherwise engaging series uncomfortable to sit through—but perhaps that’s the point.
41 Comments
At least Ferrell’s character goes on to become Brooklyn Borough President, right?
That’s what I was thinking!
Will Ferrell as the groundbreaking lovechild of Alex Trebek and Bob Ross.
Happy little answers in the form of a question.
That is the best thing I’ve heard all day.
Suck it, Trebek!
MOO!
That’s so fucking hot. The thought of Trebek and Ross getting steamy, covered in question cards and paint. Afros touching…
veryy much looking forward to this! truly a stacked cast, too
I hope it’s good but Ferrell in serious roles never seems to work.
Comedic roles, too.
(Slidewhistle) -Tom Scharpling
Stranger Than Fiction and (imo) Everything Must Go beg to differ.
Stranger than Fiction is a minor masterpiece and people who bag on Ferrell can get bent. If all he ever did was that film and Talladega Nights, his legacy would be unquestionable.
(Wrote some stuff here about Stranger Than Fiction is an awful movie, which I do believe, but I suppose in the great scheme of things it’s quite harmless, so what’s the point. Can’t find a way to delete comments, though.)
Stranger than Fiction is the second best film I’ve only ever seen once.
The Lives of Others is #1.
Stranger Than Fiction is leaning more toward dark comedy than drama.
I don’t know, there’s an underlying sadness to all those man-child roles he’s played, so I can see him doing this part easily.
Hard disagree; even in some of his comedic roles, there’s always a vaguely intimidating quality about him, which may be partly his size.
He was really good in Stranger Than Fiction.
I think he was great in Stranger Than Fiction.
Marty: Did we just become best friends?
Ike: Yep!
After watching 2 episodes of this, it just feels like a regular Will Ferrell character with less jokes. I hope the show will pick up, kind of a slow start though and I’d rather it just be funnier.
I love when Ferrell tones it down, like in Stranger Than Fiction, so this intrigues me
As someone who feels that Ferrell is capable of a lot of depth and sadness as an actor, I’m excited for this series to hopefully showcase that. He’s often far more talented than some of the lazier comedies he’s made.
I just signed up for Apple + because of this. And…I feel really guilty for not watching Ted Lasso yet too. And a few other shows.
I don’t have Apple+ but this makes me really consider signing up. I listened to the podcast and it was fascinating. I’m interested to see what they do with it.
Don’t feel guilty! Just feel lucky that you get to watch them all for the first time. I’m extremely jealous of you.
Didn’t something like this happen to Brian Wilson also?
Yeah. It’s actually kind of terrifying to think that a certain kind of wealth and/or fame make you more vulnerable to strange exploitation.
I’m not familiar with this case, but based on this review, it sounds pretty similar, i.e., a therapist who has an inordinate amount of control over the life and finances of his client, as in the case of Brian Wilson and Dr. Eugene Landy.
Calling it now: if they decide to make a Season 2 of this show (because as Dirty John and The Terror proved, execs will find any excuse to shoehorn a second season to a one season self contained series) will be about the Brian Wilson/Eugene Landry case.
I like both actors but this seems like such a bummer.
As someone who married (then quickly divorced) PsyD: Sounds accurate.
Huh, Wondery seems to be working pretty hard at getting TV shows of their podcasts going. This is the second that I know of; I wonder if more are in the works?
this almost makes me want to sign up for apple tv. i’ll wait until it’s all done then sign up for a month & watch it all.
Funny that the commercials for this makes it look like a light, feel-good comedy.
Those cotumes are ridiculous tho. That’s not how real people look.
The 80s were quite the time.
watched first three eps. it’s “The Cable Guy” except with jews.and Hann is sexy with that curly, mussy, yet always in perfect place hair.
I’m always confused by Onion’s grades. Here you’ve got a show that is not only continuously praised throughout the review (not a single criticism leveled at it) but absolutely sounds like an extremely awesome and intriguing thing to watch and it still falls short of an ‘A’?