Kevin Spacey played the lead as a constantly high shrink with a tragic past in this drama/comedy. He didn't have a lot of screen time, but was brilliant. The stories of his patients were also a big part of the movie and they all linked together beautifully. 'Shrink' is an underrated movie with a good story and fine acting.

Note: Written in 2010

Hollywood shrink Dr. Henry Carter (Kevin Spacey) is a weed-smoking drunk at home since his wife's suicide. His clients are self-obsessed with various problem in the entertainment industry. His psychiatrist father (Robert Loggia) refers troubled student Jemma (Keke Palmer) to him. Jesus (Jesse Plemons) is his drug dealer.

All these Hollywood stereotypes with their problems are really tiresome. The only interesting characters are Spacey and Palmer but only when they're together. They are an electric duo. Everything else is a horribly boring drag. I couldn't care less about his patients or his family or his friends or his dealer or him talking to anybody other than Palmer. So I only found this movie compelling for about fifteen minutes in total.

What is the point of this Woody Allen like depressing drama that tells us that only narcissists need psychiatrists and only narcissists become psychiatrists. They aren't doing it to help people but to feel like they have power over others and when that power begins to diminish, they need a psychiatrist of their own only to hand over their power to someone who some day will need a psychiatrist of their own. The movie industry is obviously the most narcissistic place to work, and no matter how big a star is or how successful they are behind the camera, they are completely messed up and their selfish little world becomes the entrance to the world of drugs and cult like Hollywood Hills gatherings and slow destruction. None of these characters are likeable and thus none of them are interesting, and leading character Kevin Spacey, even with a confrontation of friends and clients and family, deserves the same treatment that the frantic woman in "Airplane!" got.

Phony smiles and passive aggressive concern from each of the characters to another and unnecessarily crude dialog makes this quickly unlikeable. Even Robin Williams steps into the mix as a big star with an alcohol problem and sexual addiction, getting a great cut down from a smart high school student sent to Spacey, telling him that he should make better movies. This is the movie industry bashing itself without the profound impact of "Sunset Blvd." and "The Player", and if anything, it documents why the public at large is tired of Hollywood celebrities trying to tell us how to think especially since their own worlds are allegedly completely messed up.

It's ironic that Spacey is cast in the title role, shrink to the stars, and obviously Spacey the star would be one of Spacey the shrink's client. I really didn't even trust Spacey the shrink and if anything thanked God for not needing the aide of phony baloney mind benders who in the case of Hollywood shrinks do far more damage, showing why an increasing number of people in the industry (even outside movies and TV) are increasingly imploding then turning into the walking dead. This is a depressing movie with little to recommend outside the fascinating understated performance of its leading man, playing an imploding professional who needs to pack it in immediately and get the heck out of Southern California as quickly as possible.