Stutz

Dr. Phil Stutz is one of top psychiatrists in the world. Based in Los Angeles, a lot of his clients are movie stars and high achieving creative people. About that, he has this to say.

“At the end of the day, after you’re done flying private and being recognized, your problems are the same as everyone’s. Exactly the same.” 

One of his clients is Jonah Hill, and now Hill has made a movie about Stutz. Shot mostly in black and white, and on a set dressed exactly as Stutz’ real office, the feel of it is anything but artificial. The interplay of Stutz and Hill is always genuine, always human. And Hill is very frank about his goals in making the movie. 

“Therapy changed my life, and I want people to know that my issues are universal. Anyone can change.” 

Though Hill is best known as an actor, he’s also showing his chops as a director, first with 2018’s Mid90’s, an edgy and endearing teenage skateboarding comedy/drama, and now with the documentary Stutz, another labor of love. Everything Hill does, whether in front of the camera or behind, seems to come from a deeply human area of his psyche. Candid and insightful, it’s also very personal. He is always playing or showing a version of himself. From Moneyball’s Peter Brand to Wolf of Wall Street’s Donnie Azof, and now Stutz, it’s a broad palette.   

From the beginning of the movie, it’s obvious the two share a special relationship. They have both lost brothers to untimely deaths, Stutz when he was nine years old and Hill several years ago. It seems that is partially what brought Hill to therapy in the first place, along with his lifelong insecurities over weight issues, body image, and anxiety. 

Stutz is seventy five years old and suffers from Parkinson’s Disease. One of the tools he uses with clients are hand drawn diagrams to illustrate his teaching. The camera never shies away from his trembling hands as he draws these illustrations, and it brings another level of humanity to what is already an engagingly honest film. He is candid and self effacing about his health issues and any of the questions Hill asks. 

They also laugh a lot.

“Look,” Stutz explains. “If someone is talking to you about higher principles and spirituality and they don’t make you laugh, they’re not being honest. The human condition is paradoxical. If you have a brain and you’re seeking answers, the first answer is uncertainty. And you have to get comfortable with that, and be able to laugh about it.”

“True confidence is moving forward in the midst of uncertainty.”

Almost every scene in the film is just the two of them, Stutz and Hill. Talking. Hill flips the traditional doctor patient roles, resisting Stutz’ attempts to dwell too long on his (Hill’s) own issues. Instead, he becomes the interviewer, and because he has absorbed so much of the doctor’s teaching, knows the questions to ask. 

“What is the meaning of life?” He inquires at one point.

Stutz scratches his head, closes his eyes, takes a moment.

“Acceptance,” Stutz replies. “Accepting the fact that you will never figure it all out.”

Stutz is warm, candid, funny, and sometimes uncomfortable. That’s part of its charm. But ultimately it’s a love song from Jonah Hill to his therapist, in all the best ways. 

It began streaming on Netflix November 14.