vgeovanis
Lifetime Total
1+
IMDb Member
10 years
Reviews
Shrink (2017)
Bittersweet reality between the hilarity
This show is fantastic. The humor is spot-on and a cross between observational and satirical humor. And just when you think it's about to tumble over the line from satirical to truly mean -- about the main lead, or his clients, or especially his dysfunctional family and friends -- it feints and slides over to poignant and very real.
The main character is a sympathetic millennial everyman whose situation is very relatable (for certain demographics, anyway). But he's not generic or predictable. In fact, nothing about this show or its writing is predictable. Which is probably why it is so funny. Yet, at moments (not *too* often, fortunately; it's a dramedy, not a soap or melodrama), it also pulls off "heartwarming." And not in a hokey, smarmy way, but genuine.
The Chicago locations are authentic (and I could swear David's parents' house is a bungalow in Cicero, actually, but hey - Capone had a hotel in Cicero, so it's kind of an extension of the city, heh)... either that, or they've done an amazing job recreating these locations on a sound stage somewhere in LA... or, hell, maybe here in Chicago. It's obviously not a super high budget show, but the production quality is actually quite high -- nothing about it looks or seems low budget.
The ensemble acting is superlative, and the minor characters are a major part of some of the funniest bits. I often laugh more times than I can count with each episode... yet... I get these people, I know these people, I've taken care of these people, I'm friends with and related to these people, and sometimes I am one of these people.
And underneath it all, with their/our bad behavior, poor boundaries, repeated button-pushing, messed up histories, defensiveness (and offensiveness), we're all schlepping through life doing the best we can, however dysfunctionally, fearfully, a$$holish-ly, half-a$$ed-ly, and hilariously that may be.
I'm pretty bummed there apparently won't be any more episodes. It's a real shame. This show belongs on Netflix or Amazon (or should be continued there - please?). It's truly right up there with those networks' best original programming.
The main character is a sympathetic millennial everyman whose situation is very relatable (for certain demographics, anyway). But he's not generic or predictable. In fact, nothing about this show or its writing is predictable. Which is probably why it is so funny. Yet, at moments (not *too* often, fortunately; it's a dramedy, not a soap or melodrama), it also pulls off "heartwarming." And not in a hokey, smarmy way, but genuine.
The Chicago locations are authentic (and I could swear David's parents' house is a bungalow in Cicero, actually, but hey - Capone had a hotel in Cicero, so it's kind of an extension of the city, heh)... either that, or they've done an amazing job recreating these locations on a sound stage somewhere in LA... or, hell, maybe here in Chicago. It's obviously not a super high budget show, but the production quality is actually quite high -- nothing about it looks or seems low budget.
The ensemble acting is superlative, and the minor characters are a major part of some of the funniest bits. I often laugh more times than I can count with each episode... yet... I get these people, I know these people, I've taken care of these people, I'm friends with and related to these people, and sometimes I am one of these people.
And underneath it all, with their/our bad behavior, poor boundaries, repeated button-pushing, messed up histories, defensiveness (and offensiveness), we're all schlepping through life doing the best we can, however dysfunctionally, fearfully, a$$holish-ly, half-a$$ed-ly, and hilariously that may be.
I'm pretty bummed there apparently won't be any more episodes. It's a real shame. This show belongs on Netflix or Amazon (or should be continued there - please?). It's truly right up there with those networks' best original programming.