"The Couch Trip" is a frustrating film to watch because it is so uneven. Portions that show Dan Aykroyd playing a radio shrink are amazingly good...and some other parts, such as what Donna Dixon's character does at the very end, simply look sloppy and don't fit in the story.
John Burns (Aykroyd) is a most unusual man. While he's very bright and sure knows how to manipulate people, he's also spent much of his adult life in various institutions...such as prisons and psychiatric hospitals.
John's psychiatrist, Dr. Baird, is tired of this patient's antics in the hospital and has arranged to have him sent to prison instead. But when John is left alone in the Doctor's office, the phone rings...and John answers and pretends to be Baird. Well, it turns out a famous radio psychiatrist (Charles Grodin) wants him to fill in for him at his practice...and on his syndicated radio show. Not wanting to be sent to prison, John soon escapes and finds his way to California...where he soon becomes a very popular radio host....even more so than the man he's temporarily replacing.
The basic plot I mentioned above was VERY good. But the writer had problems with subplots....which tended to be more distracting than funny. This is especially true with Walter Matthau's character during much of the film. Additionally, the two real psychiatrists are more caricatures than believable in any way...especially how they both act near the end.
So what did I think of this? Well, I loved Aykroyd and his character. As for everyone else, they just weren't consistently written and tended to take away from the otherwise funny plot. Worth seeing but too uneven to merit more than a 6.
John Burns (Aykroyd) is a most unusual man. While he's very bright and sure knows how to manipulate people, he's also spent much of his adult life in various institutions...such as prisons and psychiatric hospitals.
John's psychiatrist, Dr. Baird, is tired of this patient's antics in the hospital and has arranged to have him sent to prison instead. But when John is left alone in the Doctor's office, the phone rings...and John answers and pretends to be Baird. Well, it turns out a famous radio psychiatrist (Charles Grodin) wants him to fill in for him at his practice...and on his syndicated radio show. Not wanting to be sent to prison, John soon escapes and finds his way to California...where he soon becomes a very popular radio host....even more so than the man he's temporarily replacing.
The basic plot I mentioned above was VERY good. But the writer had problems with subplots....which tended to be more distracting than funny. This is especially true with Walter Matthau's character during much of the film. Additionally, the two real psychiatrists are more caricatures than believable in any way...especially how they both act near the end.
So what did I think of this? Well, I loved Aykroyd and his character. As for everyone else, they just weren't consistently written and tended to take away from the otherwise funny plot. Worth seeing but too uneven to merit more than a 6.