Numb
Cast & Crew
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Director
Harris Goldberg -
Executive Producer
Mary Aloe -
Executive Producer
Michael Baker -
Executive Producer
Paul Schiff -
Producer
Kirk Shaw
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Hudson
Matthew Perry -
Sarah
Lynn Collins -
Tom
Kevin Pollak -
Dr. Townsend
Bob Gunton -
Audrey
Helen Shaver
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Post Production Supervisor
Crawford Hawkins
Synopsis
Numb tells the story of screenwriter Hudson Milbank, who suffers from acute depersonalization disorder. So alienated from his own life that he makes the chronically depressed look perky, Hudson lives alone, watches the Golf Channel all day, can't hang on to a relationship, shoplifts in order to get his adrenalin up off the floor, fears that thinking about his dad's death will bring it to pass, loathes his mother and, in general, is as nutty as a crapshack in a peanut farm. Obsessed with the underlying sadness that infuses his wretched existence, Hudson is a man in hell, but he thinks that his long catalogue of dismally unsatisfying and mutually self-destructive relationships is over when Sara stumbles into his life. He knows she can save him. She knows he has to save himself. Together they save each other. And it's funny too....
Latest Updates
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A film review by Christopher Null
Published on: December 7, 2008
Numb
Matthew Perry introduces us to yet another medical malady that apparently occurs only in the movies: After smoking too much pot, he becomes alienated from the outside world and even his own body and is diagnosed with "depersonalization disorder." The "numb" of the title refers to his utter lack of care about anything that happens around him, and he has to really work at trying to interact with other people.
Which makes the fact that Numb has a romance at its core all the stranger: Perry's Hudson is a high-power screenwriter and before long he's dating Sarah (Lynn Collins), a studio exec who is taken with him when Hudson and partner Tom (Kevin Pollak) drop by to pitch her a script. It's unclear why she's smitten by the nearly catatonic Hudson... though the way Perry plays it, Hudson seems to be able to come and go from his semi-coma at will.
Meanwhile, Hudson seeks treatment from every doctor and head shrink in L.A., which leads him to try every kind of pharmaceutical on the market and encounter all manner of strange docs. The film hits its most bizarre point when he hooks up with Mary Steenburgen, a psychiatrist who promptly lands in bed with him after Hudson bemoans alienating his girlfriend.
Hudson is pretty clearly a thinly-vieled analogue for writer/director Harris Goldberg (author of both Deuce Bigalow movies), and thank God he's moved up to a little more sophisticated story this time out. However, his movie ultimately lacks some much-needed depth, playing out like a series of scenes with one nutty doctor after another, many of which are filled with pat plot points (the shrink that falls asleep, the overprescription of pills).
Perry obviously chose this project in another attempt to distance himself from his sitcom persona (and possibly due to some sense memory from his own stint in rehab), but the result is mixed. Perry is fairly watchable -- as are the relatively limited number of scenes with Collins -- but the overall effect is muted. Will Hudson end up happy, with the girl, get cured? I'd be lying if I said I felt any less numb than Hudson by the end of the movie.
The DVD includes a commentary by Goldberg and a making-of featurette. -
DVD Review: Numb
Published on: June 3, 2008
Blog Critics has posted a review of Harris Goldberg's 'Numb'. Critic Rebecca Wright admits she was first interested in the film because of 'Friends' star Matthew Perry, but was surprised to see him playing such a different role.
"...the success of Numb rests squarely on the shoulders of Matthew Perry. Without his stunning ability to balance subtle humor with the depths of despair, the film would have been an unmitigated failure. By giving Hudson both neurotic and relaxed emotions — sometimes changing in mere seconds — combined with a vacant stare and not-completely-together appearance, Perry has created a believable and sympathetic character...."
Read the full review here.
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'Numb' a warm look at a seriously disturbed guy
Published on: May 30, 2008
The Norman Script has posted a review of the 'Numb' DVD. Directed by Harris Goldberg, the film stars Matthew Perry as a writer struggling with depersonalization disorder. The review praises Perry for his performance.
"He gives a performance unlike any I'd seen from him in the past, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. He rarely smiles or cracks a joke, instead showing a much more introspective and versatile side of his acting chops."
Read the full review here.
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