“Shrink Next Door” raises the stakes quickly - Ike’s manipulation of Marty is laid on thick rather than insidious and slow to burn. Either way, the writing strays into farcical territory. With two well-known comedic actors in these two opposing roles, the audience would expect laughs to ensue and, for though the show is billed as a drama, it doesn’t shy away from putting Rudd and Ferrell into preposterous situations.īut it’s difficult at times for the audience to tell whether the show is an earnest commentary on the ability of doctor-patient relationships to become abusive or if it’s a dramatization of two people’s true stories. Local park-goers, chess players and rabbis alike know Marty as Ike’s patient, which is perhaps a product of antiquated therapeutic practices from the ’80s, or an intentional exaggeration of Ike’s “unconventional” (read: unethical) practices.
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The series doesn’t waste any time testing Marty and his relationship with his therapist, who is a walking HIPAA violation, disclosing his patience’s identity around his affluent New York neighborhood. Marty shyly orders a turkey sandwich with nothing else on it.ĭuring the series, Ike takes advantage of Marty’s delicate state and tendency to be taken advantage of, first by building him up, then by knocking him down. (Ike makes it clear to Marty that he’ll still have to pay for the session’s extra hour.) Ike sits down and begins contentedly slurping noodles with chopsticks.
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The duo’s differences are pointedly shown when Ike takes Marty to a Korean restaurant - which he describes as a deli - to continue their session over lunch. He’s a bit schlubby and pathetic, and Ferrell’s New York accent tends to come and go, perhaps exposing himself as a Californian gentile. Marty bears a bit of a resemblance to Ferrell’s character in the Saturday Night Live sketch “More Cowbell,” completed with bushy, curly locks and thick beard, albeit with less midriff and less cowbell. Ike takes on new patient Marty after Marty’s sister (Kathryn Hahn) witnesses Marty’s persistent anxiety around his inherited fabric business. As a Jewish man himself, Rudd captures the familiar New York diction toned down by his character’s affluent lifestyle.ĭr. Ike as an easy-going, gregarious man: He’s a smiling therapist and active member of his modern Orthodox synagogue.
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Rudd - whose Jewish grandparents changed their name from Rudnitsky - portrays Dr. Get The Jewish Chronicle Weekly Edition by email and never miss our top stories Adapted from the Wondery and Bloomberg podcast of the same name by Joe Nocera and based on a true story, the series shows the 30-year relationship between psychiatrist Isaac “Ike” Herschkopf (Paul Rudd) and patient Marty Markowitz (Will Ferrell), which skirts the line between comradery and manipulation.