Shrink

Hollywood may be full of phonies, but films about Tinseltown need not be phony as well. Unfortunately, it's hard to believe a single character or line of dialogue in Jonas Pate's Shrink, starring Kevin Spacey as Henry Carter, a therapist with more problems than his big-shot patients. Angst-ridden over his wife's suicide, Carter spends most of his time in a marijuana haze, yet despite his dubious method of treating his own depression, he works with a host of other troubled souls—a powerful agent constantly barking out orders, an alcoholic star itching to cheat on his wife, an actress whose country-music husband is having an affair, and an Irish action star careening toward a crash. Into this mix of cardboard characters is thrust a self-destructive high-school girl whose mother has killed herself and who now skips class to watch movies all day—a patient Henry is induced to treat pro bono. Despite the high frequency of interaction among these characters (the cast includes Robin Williams, Saffron Burrows, Robert Loggia, and Gore Vidal), none of it has the slightest ring of authenticity, and the narrative links are simply implausible. Almost everyone's miserable in Shrink—but none more so than the viewer. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Jonas Pate and producer Braxton Pope, interviews with Pate and Pope (23 min.), deleted scenes (7 min.), the music video “Here” by Jackson Browne, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (F. Swietek)