disappointment media
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About

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

6/7/2024

0 Comments

 
Review by Sean Boelman
Picture
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.
Picture
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
               
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019

    Authors

    All
    Adam Donato
    Alan French
    Allison Brown
    Borja Izuzquiz
    Camden Ferrell
    Cole Groth
    Daniel Lima
    Dan Skip Allen
    Erin M. Brady
    Jonathan Berk
    Joseph Fayed
    Josh Batchelder
    Paris Jade
    Rafael Motamayor
    Sarah Williams
    Sean Boelman
    Tatiana Miranda

disappointment media

Dedicated to unique and diverse perspectives on cinema!
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About