Numb

Numb casts Matthew Perry as Hudson, a struggling screenwriter who essentially wakes up one morning afflicted with acute depersonalization disorder - a condition that leaves Hudson feeling disconnected from reality and even his own body. After sinking into a depressive funk, Hudson finds himself falling for a perky development executive named Sarah (Lynn Collins) - although, not surprisingly, their fledgling relationship is inevitably threatened by Hudson's psychological problems. There's little doubt that Numb stands out as a refreshingly innovative spin on a contemporary romantic comedy, as writer/director Harris Goldberg infuses the film's primary relationship with a distinctly authentic vibe - something that stems primarily from Perry and Collins' undeniably charismatic work as the central characters (ie these two have genuine chemistry with one another). It's worth noting that the movie does suffer following their expected fake break-up (which unfortunately comes at the midway point), with the subsequent emphasis on Hudson's efforts at getting better essentially transforming Numb into an altogether different sort of film. And while there's plenty within the movie's second half that works - excluding Hudson's egregiously silly dalliance with an older psychiatrist (Mary Steenburgen's Cheryl) - there's simply no overlooking the fact that one's interest slowly-but-surely wanes once Collins' character exits the proceedings. Still, Numb generally succeeds as an intimate look at one man's struggle with mental illness - yet it remains virtually impossible not to wish that Goldberg had focused exclusively on Hudson and Sarah's surprisingly compelling coupling.

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