Numb

In 2007, a movie called Numb was released, written and directed by Harris Goldberg, and starring Matthew Perry, Kevin Pollak, and Mary Steenburgen. This is a fascinating movie, and one with a formula I shouldn't have liked, but I very much did.

Numb is about a screenwriter (Matthew Perry) who has Acute Dispersonalization Disorder. This means that what he feels doesn't feel real to him. He is easily overwhelmed by the world's mundane sights and occurrences and is prone to nervous bobbing of the legs. His writing partner (Kevin Pollak) doesn't take him very seriously, so he doesn't receive much support there. He begins to go on a search to make it go away. In the process, he visits therapist after therapist (and even having an affair with one), he goes through experiences that he would never have done on his own, and he meets the girl of his dreams, which only makes him try harder.

It is true that this is a romantic comedy, but it is made so well, that one can forget that's what it is. The comedy in this movie is very subtle at times, which I think works perfectly since Matthew Perry is also being very subtle. His acting is almost like what Brent Spiner had to do for Star Trek. There are some great scenes where he is making out or having sex with women, but he is just looking around the room, obviously bored. The only person that doesn't happen with is the character Sara, who brings out his nervous side. He doesn't want to tell her about his disorder, so he comes across as just odd for awhile. Then when he does tell her, she goes on a crusade with him to help get him treatments. Naturally, they split up, which sends Perry into a crusade to make the disorder go away.

This is very much a comedy. In fact, this movie is quite hilarious at times. There are some achingly poignant moments too. Perry's biggest fear is the death of his father. He won't even say the word 'death' because he is afraid that it might kill his father. A therapist (that's he's sleeping with) finally gets him to say the word death, and when nothing happened, he is relieved, until shortly afterward, he learns that his dad did die. He realizes his biggest enemy is this disorder, so his crusade takes him into a study about the disorder, hoping to meet others and discuss what it's like to suffer from it. It turns out that he is the only subject and the study only reveals that he is indeed suffering from the disorder, which he knew before he started. Mary Steenburgen is by far one the funniest characters in the movie, even though you don't see much of her. Also, Kevin Pollak was great. Of course, Perry was perfect in this role.

In the end, Perry learns that in order to move on with life, he must accept the disorder as it is, and move on. He must learn to live with it since it won't go away. One just has to do the best they can with what they have. It ends happily, but it doesn't end with the normal kissing embrace. Instead, it ends similar to Sideways: you somewhat know, but since you aren't really shown, you can imply your own ending. Very well done. I highly recommend this movie.

Here is a link to the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQiNBfgBvoY