Stutz

One of my favorite movies I’ve seen this past year is “Stutz” (special thanks to Bob Vogelzang for the recommendation). Phil Stutz is name of Jonah Hill’s therapist; Jonah set out to make a documentary about his therapist for a few reasons: the effectiveness of Stutz’s approach to therapy which Jonah has experienced firsthand, Stutz’s interesting backstory and personality, and his desire to generally demystify psychotherapy. For me, it was successful on all levels. In these times where healthcare workers are suffering from mental health challenges at catastrophic levels, it stands to reason that Stutz should resonate not just amongst the denizens of Netflix but also every single healthcare worker who has survived the past few years. I endorse it enthusiastically as required viewing for residents, fellows, nurses, students, medical assistants, respiratory therapists, nurse practitioners, and every other subgroup of healthcare workers I’ve not mentioned.

Stutz has a different philosophy toward psychotherapy: he has aimed to develop tools that his patients could deploy quickly and efficiently, rather than work for years to achieve breakthroughs or important insights. He wanted to figure out how to help people in the near term, in some ways demonstrating some of the famous impatience that New Yorkers like him are so famous for. 

About 30 minutes into the movie, there is a fairly big reveal (not really a spoiler) but it is at that point that I really started to like the movie. The artifice is literally stripped away and the movie suddenly feels real and raw- it feels like the movie is embracing you. It becomes more intimate and close-knit. At this point, I started to actually like Stutz and actively root for his success/redemption/relationships/etc. And even now, months later, I’m curious to know what happened to him, how he’s doing, and what if any effect the movie has had on his life. I’m no psychologist but I’m pretty sure I should try to understand the transference issues I’m having (with a character in a movie, no less). Of course, any successful story has a protagonist that the audience cares about, but this is on a different level for me: I spend no time wondering what happened to John Wick, Jimmy McNulty, or Leopold Bloom but I want to know what happens to Phil Stutz.

Why do I feel this way about a therapist in a movie? I feel Stutz’s authentic goodness and his humor. I admire his willingness to give so much of his time and energy to the project. His openness about his own challenges make me admire him and it amplifies his charisma, authenticity, and humanity. This was a sneakily powerful movie that not only demystifies therapy but actually provides immediately useful tools to the viewers who want to understand themselves and their relationships better.