Group Therapy
Directed by Nell Berkeley
Runtime 86 minutes
Premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2024

by Liz Wiest, Staff Writer

While: “Seven comedians and Neil Patrick Harris walk into a conference room full of strangers to talk about their problems” may feel like the set up to a joke, it’s actually the premise of Hartbeat’s (of Kevin Hart fame) first Tribeca Festival selected film, Group Therapy. The documentary follows esteemed funny people Tig Notaro, Nicole Byer, Mike Birbiglia, Gary Gulman, London Hughes and Atsuko Okatsuka as they engage in a candid and unfiltered exploration of their own mental illnesses and humor facilitated by the aforementioned charismatic A-lister. However, while the direction, editing and score all worked together to compose a final product of fabulous festival bait- the optics only do so much to reign in the rather chaotic moving parts.

Despite what this film would lead you to believe, comedians are actually the easiest group you can get to start trauma dumping. It’s quite literally baked into the current expectations of the art form. Gone are the days of celebrities having a private life. If you don’t have lore more extensive than a Tolkien novel to feed your fans? Good luck. Nonetheless, the panel of comedians are all deeply authentic and a delight to watch and listen to. As documentary subjects, the producers could not have done a better job selecting talent. Every single on the fly interview was incredibly compelling, although the obviously produced interactions between them were not. Though in their defense, this was largely due to the weak conceit and non-existent theme outside the intentionally vague “mental health” umbrella. Stack it next to something similar in tone like Queer Eye (current controversy aside), where a tear-jerking sitcom-esque resolution is all but guaranteed, Group Therapy falls flat and leaves their viewers emotionally blocked. Though then again, I likely should have checked my expectations at the door if I sincerely expected a group of standups to solve the mental health crisis in a crisp 86 minutes.

In all fairness to Group Therapy, I do believe its largest issue was formatting. The same story told in a mini-series, with each comedian being a focal point, would have been incredibly impactful. Given the proper timeline and resources, the project would have found its voice that it was lacking in the limited time frame. Mental health is a precarious subject that I frankly don’t feel was given enough screentime for levity, education or nuance. While this is my opinion: I think in this case a good-faith wrong statement is better than no statement at all. The film opens with a stat about suicide then promptly shies away from the topic altogether. A choice I believe was frankly a bit irresponsible, as well as the repeated addressing of the fact that no one quite knows why Neil Patrick Harris is there. (Not that I ever mind him being there, but in this case it makes sense why it raises eyebrows). Should Group Therapy gain traction in the festival circuit and a wider spread audience, I would actually really love to see the concept expounded upon and given the creative care and production it deserves. It’s not a social experiment that’s entirely lacking in merit, but films unfortunately need payoff, and this one just simply didn’t have the bones to give us that.

Though I didn’t understand what the film was trying to say, perhaps that was maybe the point? I could be assigning it too much credit but point me to the person who has all of the answers for the time we are living in right now, and I’ll show you someone who deserves a lot more than just accolades at Tribeca Film Festival. There is a great inherent value in the “Why Now?” of Group Therapy overall. With the epidemic of Stan culture peaking since the trauma of 2020, the film’s largest benefit is the reminder that these celebrities are “just like us”. Not in the sense that they’re relatable, let’s face it: they’re not. First off, they’re rich and have access to mental health resources. However, they are sympathetic, and don’t just exist as blank templates to project your own thoughts, feelings and opinions on. The effortlessly lovable cast in this drives that point home more effectively than any other aspect of the film, and getting the chance to interact with them and the creative team at the world premiere allowed me to gain a wider perspective of their creative intent. All things considered, I do consider these comedians speaking on topics outside of their “brand” to be a beneficial and brave act that will usher in a wider conversation in similar art forms for years to come.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, please call or text 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for immediate help and support.