[Tribeca 2024] GROUP THERAPY -- Well-Meaning, Not Too Revelatory Documentary Makes Mental Health Approachable

Review by Sean Boelman

With a star-studded ensemble of subjects and a meaningful message, Group Therapy should be an absolute knockout. While Neil Berkeley’s latest documentary does a solid job with these aspects, it embraces its fluffiness a bit too much to be the socially impactful film it clearly hopes to be.

The documentary is a presentation of a live event where a group of comedians got together to have an intimate discussion about mental health and their experiences with it for a small audience (and the cameras). It definitely feels a little more in-depth than a comedy special but has too many elements of that style to fully work as a “serious” documentary, causing the movie to pose more questions than it provides answers.

The comedians participating in this experiment are Mike Birbiglia, Nicole Byer, Gary Gulman, London Hughes, Tig Notaro, and Atsuko Okatsuka, and the moderator is Neil Patrick Harris — all celebrities with sizable followings. Each person gets their own “section” where they go in-depth about their own struggles for a few minutes, but the sections where the film thrives are when conversing and supporting one another like they would in an actual group therapy session.

Admittedly, many of the subjects in Group Therapy discuss topics that they already well covered in their stand-up. This is particularly true with comedians like Birbiglia and Notaro, whose material is primarily derived from their personal experiences. They are such open books on stage that the “insightful” stories they share aren’t all that revelatory.

The conversation around mental health is incredibly important, and the organizers of this event and movie have found an effective way to make it accessible. There’s something compelling about the idea of celebrities showing their humanity, and Group Therapy certainly cashes in on that. However, as comedians, these people know how to tread sensitive subjects in a way that feels equally poignant and humorous.

However, the subjects make the mistake of presenting the audience with a frustratingly broad solution. With the exception of Gulman, who acknowledges that his experiences are very different from other people he has heard from, it feels like these people offer a very narrow-minded vision of the “fix” for mental health. While it’s understandable that they want to call attention to the fact that struggles with mental health are universal, they don’t approach the nuance and diversity of these experiences with satisfying depth.

Berkeley also struggles to make the conceit feel more cinematic than it is. After all, watching a bunch of people sit around in a circle talking isn’t all that exciting — even if those people are some of the funniest people alive. To add some excitement, Berkeley works in archive footage from the subjects’ performances and “backstage” conversations between smaller groups. However, the cameras being on for the latter moments makes them feel somewhat inauthentic.

Still, despite these shortcomings, Group Therapy is a thoroughly charming documentary with a good message. While it would have been preferable to see the film’s discussion of these essential topics be less dogmatic, it calls attention to a topic that isn’t discussed nearly often enough in a very palatable way, and it deserves praise for that.

Group Therapy is screening at the 2024 Tribeca Festival, which runs June 5-16 in New York City.

​Rating: 3/5