The movie has hardly started when, Hill finds himself asking Stutz, “Was it a fucking terrible idea for a patient to make a movie about his therapist?”….Maybe ??? This documentary is less for the viewers enjoyment , but more of a tool for Director Jonah Hill to open publicly in ways he rarely does.
When we are faced with grief, sometimes we can either make a wild extravaganza of it, or risk pushing it down till it consumes our entire life. Jonah Hill lost his brother in 2017 to an embolism, I think this movie is his way of making a spectacle of it with his art. He could only grapple with the deeply personal devastation of his brother’s death by making art about it, but to make that art he would have to let the whole world see. Sometimes artists cover this up as allusions in their story to their own life, but the need to be open and vulnerable to confront those feelings , and be able to release this art, are the same. The beauty of this is that instead of Hill first having to be vulnerable in order to make his art, he made his art so he could be vulnerable enough to talk to this shrink.
I would at first think this was a lame attempt to build the STUTZ brand. Yet, the man has Parkisons and problem isn’t taking on any more patients. I really do feel Stutz did this out of love and care for his patient , to be spark that moves him forward in life.
I don’t think this is an excellent film by itself, a lot of stuff goes unanswered and thematic stuff about his brother aren’t talked about. Yet, it’s more true to life of this is a tool for Jonah.
Also I don’t think it’s great to have everybody become their own mini shrinks with these tools.
If Jonah Hill had hoped that this film will help cure a bunch of people, or have them be able to effectively use the Stutz method he is wrong. If he think it’s a good viewing experience that’s solid end to end, he is wrong. Yet, if he thinks the documentary is a way to show the effect the of the profession itself, he is 100% correct.
