This week got incredibly busy towards the end so this is releasing on Sunday. Also, please excuse the weirdly worded moments, I kept losing my focus 🥲 Thank you for listening!
When I signed into Netflix and saw that Jonah Hill directed a new movie, I was immediately tapped in. I really enjoy his career. He’s funny, but I believe he takes the craft of acting and directing seriously, and I can respect that. So anything he’s in I’m going to watch, just to see him dominate.
But I knew this was going to be different, and more personal. Stutz, released on Nov. 14, is 90 minutes of Jonah interviewing his real-life therapist, Dr. Phil Stutz. We learn a little about Stutz’s personal life, but the film mainly focused on the tools Stutz uses with his patients.
Stutz defines a “tool” as something that can "change your inner state immediately in real-time, taking an unpleasant moment and turning it into an opportunity.” In session, Stutz uses notecards to visualize his tools in sessions so patients can take them home and pull them out whenever they need a visual reminder of the lesson. I liked this a lot. I’m a visual learner and appreciate when people take the time to explain concepts. In the film, Stutz uses his notecards to explain a few of his coined tools. It’s also casually mentioned that Stutz has Parkinson’s disease—his alarm goes off for him to take his meds and asks Jonah, “Do you wanna do some Parkinson’s drugs with me?” to which he humbly declined—so his handwriting creates a jagged font, adding another layer of care to his tools.
I’ve been figuring out this mental space I’ve been in lately, that’s mildly uncomfortable, but in a welcoming way. “I’m in a space of radical healing,” I heard myself say the other day. It was the first thing that came to mind besides, “I’m figuring myself out right now.” I don’t know if I love how that sounds, but it’s my honest reaction to these very new emotions I’m experiencing. So when I watched Stutz, I saw Jonah in a space of intentional, radical healing and being excited to share it with others through his art.
“I’m making this movie because I want to give therapy and the tools I’ve learned through therapy to as many people as possible through film,” Jonah explains, and it shows. The passion he has for his healing is admirable. I first noticed it when he started speaking openly about how the media reacted to his weight loss and his how it affected his mental health. So this passion project seems in tow of the reality he’s been sharing so far. I admire that growth.
If you follow me on TikTok, you might’ve seen my video sharing my breakup with my recent therapist. And I must say, it was one of my easier separations. My dedication to my healing feels more important than it has ever before and I don’t think the connection I felt with that therapist was going to get me where I need to be.
Then my mind began to spiral. I started to think, “At my big age, will I ever find a mental health professional that I really gel with enough to take on this task with me?” I’m not assuming Jonah’s relationship with Stutz is perfect, but it’s close enough that he trusts his wisdom and his tools enough to not only keep seeing him for years, but to also document his brilliance. They openly love each other, which makes sense. After some point I would hope a therapist becomes your friend—still professional and platonic, but there’s an intimacy there after sharing your deepest thoughts with another human being.
Normally I would take months-long breaks on finding a new therapist, but I want to hop right back into that psychiatric dating pool. Going on awkward intake sessions. The whole dance of figuring out if this is the one. And yes, I am inspired by Jonah and Stutz, but mainly Jonah, for continuously choosing to live intentionally. That’s a big deal because it’s not exactly easy, and that makes the choice meaningful.
I’m going to end this here, but I would love everyone to watch Stutz and get into his “three levels of life force” and “Part X.” I finished the movie, taking away Stutz’s tools that align with my current path. Maybe you can find the lesson in these tools and take what you need as well.
Learn more about Stutz’s Tools.
Until next time.
m.
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