Harrison Ford is indisputably a legend. Han Solo, Indiana Jones, Rick Deckard, and (sigh) Jack Trainer are all characters that are hard to imagine being played by anyone else. What is often overlooked, however, is how damned funny he is.
Almost all of Harrison Ford's iconic characters have some humorous moments, but he has rarely ventured into true comedy. Ford plays a cowboy against Gene Wilder's wayward rabbi in the 1979 comedy The Frisco Kid. It is hilarious, and I will fight you on this. Ford shows off his comedic chops in Shrinking, a dramedy with an outstanding ensemble cast that includes Jason Segal and Wendy Malick. Damon Wayans Jr. and Ted McGinley both play handsome, super nice guys named Derrick.
Ford plays psychiatrist Dr. Paul Rhoades, boss, friend, and mentor to Segal's Jimmy, who is a bit of a disaster both as a person and therapist at the start of the series. Jimmy has descended into a pit of despair, filled with drugs, alcohol, and hookers in the wake of his wife's death, and has surrendered the duty of parenting his daughter to a kind neighbor. Paul is in the midst of a battle with Parkinson's. While none of this sounds funny, I assure you that it is.
Harrison Ford's entry into television at this stage in his career is a gift. He is doing incredible work on this show, and everyone should see it. Unfortunately, Shrinking is trapped on Apple TV+. According to Digital Trends, Apple TV+ is the 8th most popular streaming service, with fewer than 10% of the subscribers of the number one service, Netflix.
If you aren't one of the 25 million Apple TV+ subscribers, don't make any plans for this weekend. Apple TV+ will be free for everyone this weekend, January 3rd through 5th, which should give you enough time to binge all twenty episodes of the show's two seasons.
The one drawback to the funny Harrison Ford is that there is substantially less of him angrily pointing at stuff.
Previously: Return of the Ewok, an unreleased mockumentary starring Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher
