ASK Musings

I’ve be trying to write a review of every piece of media I watch this year for the first time. I rewatch a lot things (I’m pretty sure I’ve watched the entirety of The Good Place at least a dozen times), so luckily this isn’t a super taxing task I’ve set out for myself.

Last week I finished watching both seasons of Shrinking. Now, the fact that I hadn’t watched it before is shocking – Jason Segel is an actor who I have enjoyed watching for years.

Jessica Williams is fantastic and hilarious.

And Harrison Ford is … Harrison Ford. I mean, legend. But I watched the first two episodes when the first season came out and it was awkward and super sad. Which makes sense, right? The premise is that Segel’s character Jimmy lost his wife in a car accident a year ago, and he has not handled it well at all. His daughter Alice was 16 at the time, and his neighbor basically had to step in to help raise her while Jimmy spiraled.

Also, Jimmy is a therapist.

The first couple of episodes show how much he has fucked up as a dad, and also how unconventional (unethical, probably illegal as well) his approach has become. I found it to be a big bummer, and couldn’t get into it, so it sat with S1E3 showing up whenever we signed into AppleTV+ to watch something else. Then a couple of weeks I decided that I’ve heard so much raving about the show that I should give it another chance, and from that episode I basically watched it whenever I had free time.

It’s fantastic.

I know, I’m not breaking any ground here with that opinion but holy shit. The writing. The character development. Sure, there are some plot holes (the aforementioned ‘unconventional’ therapy approach that someone would report at some point), but I’m fine overlooking those to see how these people develop. They aren’t cruel (well, except for Liz, but that’s her whole vibe and it works for her), but they are complex and have emotions and make mistakes but also care deeply about their friends and family. Jimmy, from about episode three onward, really starts to try to make things better for his daughter and for himself. He moves forward, he makes mistakes, he backtracks. He’s all over the place, but generally moving in the healthier direction.

And because the show is on a streaming service, they can speak in a way that sounds natural (to me, someone who cusses a lot). I always find it so odd on TV shows when people go through something really terrifying or traumatic or sad and their response is say ‘oh no’ or something similar. But on this show? Fuck, shit, bitch, etc. All used naturally and in a way that makes sense to the situation they’re in, at least to me.

I feel lucky that I got to watch the first two seasons basically over the course of a week, because I got to see so much development so quickly. I just loved it.

Harrison Ford is SO GOOD in this. Just fantastic, playing an old man who has Parkinson’s and is having to accept that his life is changing. Just brilliant acting and writing. And Jessica Williams, especially getting more of her own storylines in season two, is excellent. Her comedic timing is phenomenal.

So go watch it, kay?