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Product Description
Amazon.ca
An original half-hour comedy series concocted for the Starz channel, Head Case arrives on DVD with eight episodes from its debut season, along with assorted extras. Alexandra Wentworth stars as therapist Elizabeth Goode, who caters (at a tidy $450 per hour) to a celebrity clientele in (where else) Beverly Hills. The series’ conceit is to turn the whole shrink-patient relationship on its ear. Dr. Goode is a billboard for unprofessional behavior: She insults her patients, asks them outrageously inappropriate questions (“How does it feel to be perceived as a homosexual?” she queries Jason Priestley), gives them terrible advice and later disavows any responsibility for it, discusses her own tumultuous personal life with them, interrupts sessions to take phone calls… In short, she’s a mess. So is everyone around her, including the patient-filching Freudian psychiatrist (played by Steve Landesberg) who shares office space and, to a slightly lesser extent, her wacky assistant (Michelle Arthur); in fact, in this world, it’s the doc and other “civilians” who are neurotic and needy and the stars who have their heads on relatively straight. And there are plenty of stars in this sky, as Rosanna Arquette, Andy Dick, Lea Thompson, Monica Potter, Christopher Lloyd, Trudie Styler, Cindy Margolis, and Jeff Goldblum are just a few of the actors who appear as (and obviously enjoy) themselves.
It’s an amusing premise, and Head Case is often really funny. But the lead character gets annoying, and the show is often so over-the-top as to move beyond what could have been subtle satire into the realm of broad parody. As several users have pointed out, the batch of shorts (ten of them, occupying about two hours) that preceded the series are found on the second of the set’s two discs (i.e., out of chronological order), along with a brief “making of” featurette. They’re a bit weirder (talk about odd pairings: one features bad boy actor Tom Sizemore and former pornstar Tracy Lords, another Ralph Macchio and musician Liz Phair), and arguably more enjoyable, if only because of the 10-to-15-minute running time. --Sam Graham
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.6 out of 5 stars (64 customer reviews)
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I am a Makeup Lady Except the Makeup Is for Your Head, April 23 2009
By Scooter McGavin - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Head Case (DVD)
Pre-release customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program
We all know most of Hollywood have major mental problems so Head Case seems like a natural show. If you never have heard of Head Case it is probably because it is on Starz. The show features Alexandra Wentworth (In Living Color) as a psychologist to the stars that features actual celebrities, and legitimate ones too, not the kind ABC and VH1 trot out for their unwatchable reality shows.
Being semi-scripted, most episodes hinge on how well the stars can think on their feet, and while some can (Andy Dick, Jonathan Silverman) others fall flat (Good Charlotte's Joel Madden). And there is a special category for Greg Grumberg that makes me happy I stopped watching Heroes because I never want to see him in anything again after this. And I thought his super-hearing face was disturbing.
The show isn't all about the celebrities as we also follow Wentworth outside her practice to show just how she is the last person to give anyone advise as she has bad relationships with her family and boyfriend (Ron Benedict, Threshold). But the scene stealer is Steve Landesberg (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) whom Wentworth shares an office with despite not actually having any patients so he tries to land some of her clients and psychoanalyze the repair guy while he works.
One big problem with the DVD packaging is that is out of order. There is two hours worth of shorts that are on the second disk that actually aired before what the set calls the first season which is on the first disk. If you watch the first disk first like I did, there is a sense that you are missing something while watching the first episode. So if you check out the first season of Head Case on DVD, be sure to pop in the second disk first to watch it the way the show aired chronologically. The second disk also features a featurette and a blooper reel.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cool show; questionable presentation, April 22 2009
By Aaron Silverman "DJ Kuul A" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Head Case (DVD)
Pre-release customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program
This is a pretty funny show. I wouldn't say it's up to the level of the classic HBO programs like Curb Your Enthusiasm, but it's worth watching if you enjoy a twisted sense of humor. And it is very twisted -- they get into some rather freaky subject matter, along with a fair amount of swearing and occasional nudity. It's not for the squeamish.
That said, I have some issues with the DVD presentation. The picture and sound are fine for the most part; it's the way the set is organized that's a little strange. The show began as a series of 12-minute shorts, which were followed by eight 25-minute episodes. The eight longer episodes are on disc 1 as "Season One," while the shorts are on disc 2 as "Bonus Shorts." The material on disc 1 chronologically follows the "bonus" episodes on disc 2, so there are storylines that pick up in the middle if you watch disc 1 first. This is not a huge issue, but it is a little disconcerting, and it ruins some of the gags in the shorts since they get referenced "later" in the disc 1 episodes. The other strange and annoying thing about the short episodes is that they are encoded in non-anamorphic widescreen and without subtitles. The episodes on disc 1 are enhanced for widescreen TVs and include subtitles. This is inexplicable and indefensible.
Disc 2 also includes a short making-of featurette and a blooper reel, both also in non-anamorphic widescreen and sans subtitles. They're OK but nothing special.
So I do recommend the show -- just be sure to watch disc 2 first. I might award 4 stars for the content, but I'm docking one for the bizarre presentation that actually reduces the entertainment value by partially spoiling the material on disc 2.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ali was born to play this role..., Jun 25 2009
By The Amazonian King "Chorgo T. King" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Head Case (DVD)
Pre-release customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program
(PLEASE NOTE: Like "Head Case" itself, this review is brief)
At long last, a role that Ali Wentworth-Stephanopolous ;) was born to play. She's a fantastic comedic talent, yet was lost in the TV wilderness for years following her breakout role on "In Living Color".
Well, motherhood played a big role in her career path as well.
And speaking of those who were lost-and-now-found, Steve Landesberg is a true scene-stealer... where has he been in the **almost 3 decades** since Barney Miller???
Like many other reviewers, I agree both the show and DVD box set itself has problems (albeit slight) and huge potential. A five-year old must have been in charge of producing the discs, as the episodes are completely out-of-order... Disk 2 should be Disk 1, etc.
BOTTOMLINE, Buy or No-Buy: Buy. This title is reasonably-priced and the show is often quite hilarious. The David Allen-Grier (again, In Living Color) episode alone is worth it.
Ok, let the "0 of 100 Reviewers Find This Review Helpful" onslaught begin!!
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