If I told you Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell were starring in a new show together you'd reasonably assume it was going to be damn funny. After all, they're two of the finest comic actors around today so it only stands to reason.
Especially considering it's near impossible tonot be won over by the seemingly ageless Rudd's easy charm. Has any other A-list star been so damn likeable? I've thought about it for a good minute or so now and can tell you the answer is a resounding no.
Then there's Ferrell, the loosest of cannons, whose mind shoots off one-liners in unexpectedly absurd directions while still retaining a deep humanity to his characters.
When they've joined forces it's always been comedy gold. The pair were hilarious together as mustachioed newsmen in the early noughties comedy classic Anchor-Man: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and then hilarious together again nine years later in its sequel, Anchor-Man 2: The Legend Continues.
They have an easy chemistry. They play off each so well. Yet this third time is most definitely not the charm. There's no other way to say it; the pair are simply not hilarious at all in their new Apple TV+ show The Shrink Next Door. You might get the occasional smirk, perhaps at most a light chuckle, but that's really your lot.
Will Ferrell as Marty and Paul Rudd as Dr. Ike search for a therapy breakthrough in The Shrink Next Door.
The series is billed as a dark dramedy but, in its first few episodes at least, it disappointingly only follows through with the drama.
The show's based on a successful podcast which is itself based on a true, if relatively obscure, story about a narcissistic psychiatrist who essentially controlled his patient for 35 years.
Set mostly in a more grounded 80s - as opposed to the neon-blasted, kitschy representations that are on trend - Rudd plays the charismatic yet manipulative therapist Dr Ike while Ferrell stars as his golden rube, the mild-mannered patient Marty Markowitz.
Marty owns and runs a fabrics factory but is a total pushover who's prone to debilitating panic attacks at the merest hint of confrontation. Initially reluctant to attend therapy but pushed to do so by his bolshy sister (played by the show's secret weapon, Kathryn Hahn), Marty soon embraces treatment after feeling a surge of empowerment during his first session.
Kathryn Hahn is the show's secret weapon.
It's hard to pinpoint the exact moment Ike realises he can take Marty for a ride, but it's somewhere between underhandedly charging Marty for going over their allotted session time - after suggesting they go out for lunch together - and piggybacking the expense of his daughter's coming-of-age bat-mitzvah on to the "therapeutic" re-bat-mitzvah he organises for Marty.
Rudd oozes a sincere charisma as Dr Ike that nevertheless fails to hide the character's greasy sheen. Your spider-sense tingles, telling you he's not quite on the level, but Rudd's face-filling smile enables him to bypass your defences. It's easy to see how the rudderless Marty would fall for the deceit.
Scene from The Shrink Next Door, streaming now on Apple TV+.
This premise makes you think the show's going to be a gas. It's not. Sure, they both sneak the odd gag in where they can. But they're lightly amusing at best and either revolve around Ferrell's more obscure 80s references, like the American soap Falcon's Crest or the high-flying wrestler Jimmy "The Superfly" Snuka, Rudd's enthusiasm for being photographed with celebs or seemingly improvised bants that don't quite hit the cringe target they were aiming for.
Aside from its sheer star power, the show's big hook is its opening scene, which sets a bait of intrigue to capture your curiosity. Set in the 2010s, we see Ike hosting a fancy house party and dismissively bossing Marty around. Once all the guests have left and Marty's alone cleaning up he snaps and starts busting the place up before the show quantum leaps back to the 80s and the beginning of their story. This journey from blossoming bromance to destructive outburst is what the show's counting on to keep you coming back each week.
Will Ferrell stars as Marty, a man who was manipulated by his therapist for over 30 years.
There's no denying it's a terrific premise, even more so as the events depicted actually occurred, and it's certainly well-crafted, boasting the feel, look and style of the type of indie darlings that dominate the Sundance Film Festival.
While it may not be as entertaining as expected, the core trio are so good that's it's an easy watch and the show does nail its vibe of creepy disquiet - even if the stars' heavily put-on Noo Yawk accents occasionally threaten to undermine it.
