Numb is a low budget movie with a surprising cast of stars. Matthew Perry stars and Kevin Pollack and Mary Steenbureng are co-stars. The cast is surprising because it is a Canadian production, and truthfully not very good.
Perry plays Hudson Milbank, a screenwriter. At the movie start, he smokes a lot of pot that causes something in him to snap. He becomes “de-personalized” which means he always feels detached from his own body. He looks at his hands but they do not feel like his hands.
Kevin Pollack plays Tom, Hudson’s screenwriting partner. In the partnership Hudson is the salesman and Tom is the talent. Tom acts as an advice giver for Hudson and a sounding board for his insecurities. Tom and Hudson are in the midst of trying to sell a script.
At a pitch meeting for the script, Hudson meets Sarah (Lynn Collins). They instantly hit it off; she is attracted to him despite of or maybe because of his insecurities. He sees her as a perfect woman because she is free-spirited and unafraid of things.
Because of the budding romance, Hudson becomes desperate for a cure. He tries various medications and therapists. At first, Sarah deals with his disease and tries to help him get over it. As the relationship goes on it becomes more and more of a problem.
The rest of the movie’s story follows Hudson through the ups and down of his romance with Sarah and his struggles with the disease. The movie presents the disease as a jumping off point for many wacky situations and amusing back-and-forth. One wacky situation is Hudson sleeping with one of his therapists, Dr. Blaine (Mary Steenburgen). It turns out she is even more desperate and messed up than he is. In one amusing back-and-forth Hudson tells Sarah she looks like a lion, and she tells him he looks like an owl. The jokes are very much hit-and-miss.
Even though Perry is playing a man who is too detached for his own good, he manages to overplay it. If his character is detached is he supposed to be so jumpy? The rest of the cast perform their roles admirably, though Kevin Pollack occasionally phones in the comedy.
It is ironic that a movie about screenwriting violates one of its’ cardinal rules: never use voiceover. Perry’s voiceover is flat and uninspired. It seems to come at random points and often tells what is going on visually.
The voiceover is not my only problem with the direction. The shots and edits get too flashy at times. The director probably did this to make the movie look higher budget but it has the opposite effect.
The movie has an interesting premise and some amusing moments, but is not a film I would recommend. A lot more could have been done with the subject and Perry does not make the character particularly likable. The movie is skippable.
Numb Trailer