Whether attempting to mimic the success of shows like HBO’s In Treatment or that of its highly regarded online predecessor Web Therapy, or it’s just a coincidence, Couch Cases has joined the fray by diving into the realm of shrinks on screen.
The shrink in question is Dr. Amy, played by Kathi Funston, who co-created the series along with director Patrick Ortman. Dr. Amy is a half-adolescent, half-therapist type of gal whose socially deficient and, thanks to her slightly immodest cleavage and snarky bitching about patients to best friend Heather (Sabrina Bolin), shatters any confidences we would’ve had in her professional abilities.
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While Dr. Katz and Web Therapy take suble approaches to psych-themed comedy, Couch Cases goes the way of cliched sitcoms. Dr. Amy plays a silly, bumbling, single professional just makin’ her way in the world, trying to find a mate. Yadda yadda.
All may not be lost, though, as Dr. Amy becomes a bit more aware, and begins to acknowledge her own issues and weaknesses.
As we move past the first episode, when Dr. Amy’s not betraying the confidence of her patients, Heather is giving her a hand in pointing out the hot, available guys.
There’s ‘Hot Waiter Guy’ (Simon Hamlin), who serves them at their local EAT eatery. There’s Dr. Steve, the chiropractor (or ‘witch doctor,’ as Dr. Amy dubs him) who works nearby. And then there’s hot gym guy, who doesn’t get quotes for his name but does get a nice physical appraisal, and an ensuing skin-touching ‘spot’ on the Universal weights.
In episode 4, Heather takes Dr. Amy to a psychic, where she’s proffered the possibility of exchanging future spinsterhood for a knight in shining armor. Hot Waiter Guy, who she finally learns is named Nathan, looks to be in the lead for that dubious honor thus far, as the therapist with neuroses and no man leaves him her Tarot card along with the tip.
If Ortman and Funston can focus on this earnest angle moving forward, and maneuver the plot away from the cloying, they just might be onto a sitcom that’s well worth getting up off the couch and onto your computer to watch.
Check it out at CouchCases.com.
