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Details

Summaries

A chronically-depressed screenwriter desperately tries to cure his condition when he meets the girl of his dreams.

Hudson Milbank is a successful Hollywood screenwriter who suddenly, strangely, finds himself with no emotional feelings. He tries doctor after doctor, shrink after shrink, but nothing works. The Golf Channel, lesbian exercise classes, and a dizzying variety of pills get him through the day but don't quite solve his problem. His writing partner tries everything to get him back to normal, but it's not until Hudson meets Sara that he finds a real motivation to get better and actually start feeling again. From the writer of "Deuce Bigalow" comes "NUMB", a romantic comedy about an unusual man looking for strange love.—Anonymous

Hudson Milbank is one half of a Los Angeles-based screenwriting team. His partner Tom is the writer; Hudson is the pitchman, which requires him to be on his toes mentally during meetings. After smoking his first joint ever, Hudson begins to feel detached from himself, almost like he is looking at what is happening to himself without feeling anything or being able to control what he is doing. He learns that the technical term for his disorder is depersonalization. Associated with his disorder is anxiety, insomnia, and depression. Specific to him, he believes that even mentioning the words "death" or "dying" will result in the death of his father, which would be traumatic as he has dysfunctional relationships with his mother and older brother. As Hudson goes to a series of doctors and therapists in the hope that one or more of them can cure him (some treatments end with disastrous results), Hudson tries to continue with his life, which generally consists of endless hours of watching the longest programming he can find on television, such as the golf channel or the longest movies ever made. At a pitch meeting he meets Sara Harrison, the executive assistant at a movie development company. The two begin a relationship that continues even after Sara learns of Hudson's disorder; she states she's in this relationship because you can't control with whom you fall in love. But will Sara be able to tolerate the many issues in Hudson's life, especially as Hudson comes to the conclusion that he might never be normal?—Huggo

Screenwriter Hudson Milbank suffers from acute depersonalization disorder. So alienated from his own life that he makes the chronically-depressed look perky, Hudson lives alone, watches The Golf Channel all day, can't hang onto a relationship, shoplifts to get his adrenaline up off the floor, fears that thinking about his dad's death will bring it on, loathes his mother, and is as nutty as a crapshack in a peanut farm. Obsessed with the underlying sadness that infuses his wretched existence, Hudson is a man in hell, but he thinks that his long catalogue of dismally unsatisfying and mutually self-destructive relationships is over when Sara stumbles into his life. He knows she can save him. She knows he must save himself. Together they save each other.—Anonymous

Details

Keywords
  • female rear nudity
  • female full frontal nudity
  • depression
  • mental illness
  • depersonalization
Genres
  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Romance
Release date Jun 12, 2008
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) R
Countries of origin United States Canada
Official sites Official soundtrack site
Language English
Filming locations Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Production companies Paul Schiff Productions Insight Film Studios Fries Film Group

Box office

Budget $3300000

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 33m
Color Color
Sound mix Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio 2.35 : 1

Synopsis

When modestly successful screenwriter Hudson Milbank (Matthew Perry) descends into a strange mood in which he feels detached from the world around him and unable to connect with his surroundings, either physically or emotionally, he initially attributes it to a night of excessive cannabis use.

His writing partner Tom (Kevin Pollak) is disturbed by the sudden change in Hudson's demeanor and urges him to seek psychiatric help. Tom is worried that Hudson is not going to be ready for a big pitch meeting the following week.

Dr. Townsend (Bob Gunton) diagnoses his condition as DePersonalization disorder and prescribes various medications including Clonazepam. One Clonazepam pill was equivalent to 3 domestic beers. Hudson was taking them daily in multiple doses. But the side effect was sexual dysfunction. Hudson felt that Townsend was not giving him enough attention, as he would fall asleep in the middle of his sessions and Hudson had already spent $2650 on sessions with him.Hudson resorts to intense workouts to increase his endorphin levels. When that doesn't work, he goes to meet his parents Peter Milbank (William B. Davis) & Audrey Milbank (Helen Shaver). But they are not helpful when Hudson gets anxiety attacks staying with them.

Coming back to LA, Tom takes Hudson for a business meeting to pitch their new book to publishers. That's where he meets Sara, which jolts him back into action. Sara (Lynn Collins) is a beautiful young woman & a film development executive who finds him attractive (They start dating, and Hudson realizes that Sara is attracted to unstable guys. Sara takes Hudson home on their first date and they both discuss how they are both weird with their own peculiarities. Sara wants to have sex, but Hudson withdraws and leaves) and appealing and decides to introduce him to as many positive and compelling experiences as possible.

Sara eases Hudson into social life. takes him lawn bowling and so on. Hudson watches movies with her all night. Sara pushes Hudson out of his comfort zones but taking him to a strip club. Sara finds that Hudson steals small stuff from superstores, in order to feel alive. Sara makes Hudson go back and pay for the pen he stole. That night they have sex.

Hudson cares for Sara and wants to get better for her sake. When nothing seems to help Hudson consults Dr. Richmond (Brian George), who also sees drugs, albeit Divalproex sodium and others rather than Clonazepam, as the solution. when this also doesn't work, Hudson finally opens up to Sara about his DePersonalization problem. Sara researches the issue and studies everything about it. Sara warns Richmond that he is not understanding Hudson's problem, but Richmond dismisses her concerns and adds new drugs to Hudson's regime.

Hudson knows he doesn't deserve Sara and decides to self-sabotage his relationship with her by stealing a scone from a pastry shop knowing fully well that Sara was watching him. Sara knows what Hudson is trying to do and walks away from him.

Tom encourages Hudson to find another woman. and at a deli, Hudson starts talking to a random woman. Turns out she is another psychiatrist, Dr. Blaine (Mary Steenburgen), who initially resists his advances (since he is a patient) but ultimately has an affair with him before revealing she has serious issues of her own that require professional attention. Blaine becomes addictive of Hudson and borderlines on stalking him. Blaine corners Hudson at a restaurant and declares her love for him. This scares Hudson.

To get away from Blaine, Hudson enrolls in a DePersonalization study conducted by Dr Paula Simon at the Mt. Sinai hospital. The nurse (Keegan Connor Tracy) interacts closely with Hudson over the next 3 days and Hudson shares his life with her. All through the study, Hudson only thinks about Sara. Paula suggests that Hudson try drugs or exercises, which he had already done. Then she suggests meeting Dr Blaine, and Hudson starts banging his head.

To win Sara back, Hudson buys a new car and a new home. Hudson finds that Sara is leaving with a guy and rushes to the airport. Hudson declares his love for Sara, but she won't stay. Shortly thereafter Hudson's father dies. Hudson attends the funeral and blames his mother for the way he turned out.

Hudson reverts to pot to feel alive, but that doesn't work. So, he starts stealing again. Hudson gets arrested. Tom bails Hudson out. Hudson starts making changes to his life, like letting Tom stand up for his work during pitches and helping other patients of anxiety, by just sitting with them. Hudson finds Sara again at a video store. Hudson finally accepts who he is and conveys the same to Sara. Eventually they get back together.

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