Numb (2007/I)

Director:

Harris Goldberg

Writer:

Harris Goldberg (writer)

Release Date:

14 June 2008 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Love is better unmedicated.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Father Son Relationship | Pharmacist | Estrangement | Female Frontal Nudity | Mental Illness

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Matthew Perry	...	Hudson
Lynn Collins	...	Sara
Kevin Pollak	...	Tom
Bob Gunton	...	Dr. Townsend
Helen Shaver	...	Audrey
William B. Davis	...	Peter
Mary Steenburgen	...	Dr. Cheryl Blaine
Benjamin Ratner	...	Stan (as Ben Ratner)
Noah Danby	...	Tim
Monique Ganderton	...	Debra
Mark Acheson	...	Homeless Guy
Patricia Harras	...	Dr. Simon
Brad Ganes	...	John
Ingrid Torrance	...	Female Psychologist
Brian George	...	Dr. Richmond
Graham Kosakoski	...	Big 5 Salesman
Jovanna Huguet	...	Cute Nervous Girl
Burkely Duffield	...	Young Hudson
Suzanne Serwatuk	...	Assistant
Angela Besharah	...	Receptionist
Jerry Rector	...	BMW Salesman
Benjamin Ayres	...	Brad (as Ben Ayres)
Donny James Lucas	...	ER Doctor (as Donny Lucas)
Barry W. Levy	...	Executive (as Barry Levy)
Rachel Hayward	...	Spinning Instructor
Reg Tupper	...	Big Executive
Melanie Yeats	...	Executive Assistant
Keegan Tracy	...	Mt. Sinai Nurse
Tony Alcantar	...	Mt. Sinai Researcher
Peter Hall	...	Neurologist
Lyle St. Goddard	...	Sky Cap
Linden Banks	...	Pharmacist
Brett Delaney	...	Police Officer
Caroline Heisler	...	Real Estate Agent (as Caroline Haisler)
Mark Gash	...	Sanitariam Doctor
Julia Benson	...	Sara's Girlfriend (as Julia Anderson)
Beverley Breuer	...	Secretary
Holly Eglington	...	Stripper
Michael Adamthwaite	...	Thug
Darcy Michael	...	Video Store Clerk
Donna Yamamoto	...	Cashier
Erica Van Briel	...	Girl in the Rain
Nancy J. Lilley	...	Irate Lady (as Nancy Lilley)

Directed by
Harris Goldberg

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Harris Goldberg		writer

Produced by
Mary Aloe	....	executive producer
Michael Baker	....	executive producer
Robert Galletti	....	associate producer
Lindsay MacAdam	....	co-producer
Matthew Perry	....	executive producer
Paul Schiff	....	executive producer
Kirk Shaw	....	producer

Original Music by
Ryan Shore

Cinematography by
Eric Steelberg

Film Editing by
Jeff Wishengrad

Casting by
Eyde Belasco
Laura Toplass

Production Design by
Phil Schmidt

Costume Design by
Roger J. Forker

Makeup Department
Jill Corp	....	key hair stylist
Tiffany Riley	....	assistant makeup artist
Amy Van Wormer	....	key makeup artist
Stevi Williams	....	contact lens technician

Production Management
J.D. Disalvatore	....	production manager: second unit
Todd Giroux	....	technical post-production supervisor
Jamie Goehring	....	production manager
Crawford Hawkins	....	post-production supervisor
Nicole M. White	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kevin Leeson	....	second assistant director
Kevin Leslie	....	first assistant director
Trevor McWhinney	....	third assistant director
Daisy Muñoz	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Michael Hall	....	on-set dresser
John Willett	....	visual consultant

Sound Department
Ethan Beigel	....	adr mixer
Craig George	....	adr & dialogue editor
Jeff Jackman	....	sound effects editor
Shawn Miller	....	sound mixer
Millar Montgomery	....	boom operator
Roger Morris	....	adr mixer
Roger Morris	....	dialogue editor
Roger Morris	....	supervising sound editor
Peter Pearson	....	walla director
Greg Stewart	....	sound re-recording mixer
Bill Westwell	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Chris Labre	....	special effects assistant
Brant McIlroy	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Jared Jones	....	digital compositor
Jason Korber	....	digital compositor
Mike Leeming	....	visual effects editor
Richard Mintak	....	visual effects supervisor
Claudio Sepulveda	....	digital intermediate colorist
Jon Shaw	....	visual effects
Susan Stewart	....	digital matte painter
Jaison Stritch	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Steven McMichael	....	stunt coordinator
Owen Walstrom	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Ed Araquel	....	still photographer
Aynsley Baldwin	....	electrician
Jessica Brajoux	....	lamp operator
Alexander Glua	....	camera assistant
Sabrina Karine	....	lamp operator
Vince Laxton	....	gaffer
Shawn Montgomery	....	key grip
Ali-Reza Nusrat	....	second assistant camera
Doug Schwartz	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Shaun Balbar	....	costumes supervisor
Brie Harris	....	costume supervisor
Tracey Rogers	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
Sean Bowers	....	post-production coordinator
James Cowan	....	finishing editor
Sean Leute	....	assistant editor
Lissette Rodriguez	....	assistant editor

Music Department
David Gregory Byrne	....	assistant to composer
Bryon Rickerson	....	temp music
Matthew Safran	....	music supervisor
Margaret Yen	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Richard Chilton	....	transportation coordinator
Miroslaw Syta	....	driver

Other crew
Nathan Bishop	....	key set production assistant: second unit
Patrick Bushnell	....	production assistant
David Costello	....	production assistant
Oliver De Caigny	....	business affairs
Oliver De Caigny	....	production coordinator
Tai Duncan	....	creative consultant
Jonathan Fox	....	production assistant
Mark Gamache	....	location manager
David Grave	....	production assistant
Robert Halvorsen	....	assistant: Mary Aloe
Brandon Houston	....	production assistant
Kelly Lee Lamb	....	production assistant
Annie-Claude Langlois	....	assistant production coordinator
Nathaniel Moher	....	production assistant
Sandra Montgomery	....	script supervisor
Christina Ollson	....	production assistant
Joanne Patterson	....	assistant production coordinator
Armand Santos	....	production assistant
Ashley Sawyer	....	production assistant: assistant director
Ashly Sawyer	....	production assistant: assistant director
Winona Sim	....	playback coordinator
Chris Smith	....	key production assistant
Scooby Vincent	....	assistant location manager (as Michelle Vincent)
Adam Voghell	....	post production coordinator
Darcy Woodley	....	animal trainer
Steve Woodley	....	animal trainer coordinator

Production Companies

• Insight Film & Proud Mary Entertainment Productions
• Numb Productions
• Aloe Entertainment
• Proud Mary Entertainment
• Insight Film Studios
• Insight Films
• Paul Schiff Productions
• Redwood Palms Pictures

Distributors

• Scanbox Entertainment (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• Image Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Peace Arch Entertainment Group (2008) (Canada) (DVD) (Region 1)
• Scanbox Entertainment (2007) (UK) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Sunfilm Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• MovieScore Media  soundtrack
• NovaStar Digital  sound re-recording
• Post Modern Sound  post-production sound services
• Soundtrack  ADR Facility

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some drug use and sexual content/nudity.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | USA:R | Netherlands:AL

Filming Locations:

Langley, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Insight Film & Proud Mary Entertainment Productions

Goofs:

Errors in geography: After Hudson steals the sneakers, he is shown running down a brick walkway past a sandwich sign for a nail salon. The phone number on the bottom of the sign has a 604 area code which is for the lower mainland of British Columbia in Canada, not for the Los Angeles area, which the story is set in.

Quotes:

Hudson: You're insanely cute.
Sarah: You think I'm cute? . . . I kind of think I have a big head.

Soundtrack:

Some Other Time

It actually happened to me... and, honestly, this is pretty accurate

I picked this up on a whim after having only seen a brief trailer for it on another movie. I am SO glad I did. As one of the other commentators pointed out, depersonalization disorder is a real problem for some people. Unlike Perry's character, I smoked weed everyday for a little over two years before it suddenly flipped a 180 on me and threw me into a panic/anxiety disorder coupled with what I was calling dissociation (not feeling right in your own skin, as they say in the movie, is spot-on). I felt "out of pocket" for over two years after my incident and never really went completely back to normal. I eventually managed to get over the chronic anxiety (after six months on Lexapro and about a year spent seeing a psychologist). Anyway, sorry to go on about myself, but it is just such a relief to see this on film! I'm even a writer as well (fiction not screenplays), but this is uncanny. My doctor also told me there was nothing physically wrong with me, just like in the film. I had an MRI and multiple other tests which all yielded nothing, like in the film. I had read some blog entries of people experiencing this, but my doctor had no idea what was wrong with me and my shrink had never really heard of it either. I felt just as alone and helpless as Perry's character does.

This movie did an amazing job of showing the effects of this little-known disorder. That whole part about looking at your hand or an object and not feeling like it's actually there, even though you can physically feel it -- completely true. I wanted to crawl out of my skin at times, and it is just so cathartic to see this film now, years after the fact. Perry is brilliant in this role and didn't even slip into Chandler-esquire tropes that have somewhat become his trademark (although, unfortunately, he will always be compared to that character). The dialog is actually quite good and the romanticism in this film isn't overbearing and contrived like so many other rom-comedies. In fact, I normally avoid rom-comedy for that very reason. Numb avoids the pitfalls and cuts right to the uncontrived truths. It doesn't rely on cuteness or sentimentality and the wittiness shines. Of course it's not perfection, but I couldn't have asked for more. Thank you Harris Goldberg. You did well.