Nathan Fielder takes gonzo comedy to a new level in ‘The Rehearsal’: review
nypost.comHBO Max, “The Rehearsal,” is Fielder’s bizarre attempt to eliminate the uncertainties that come up in daily life. In each episode, he meets with various real people who have responded to a vague Craigslist ad in which Fielder posted: “TV Opportunity: Is there something you’re avoiding?” In his mild-mannered socially inept way, he then meets with each person to help them “rehearse” for incidents and interactions that they’re dreading in life before they tackle them for real.
It’s a baffling set-up, but it makes perfect sense if you’re neurotic. For instance, the first episode opens with Fielder meeting with a nerdy 50-year-old Brooklyn teacher who has been on a bar trivia team for over a decade.
However, in a fit of insecurity, he lied to them that he has a Master’s degree (he only has a Bachelor’s degree). This lie has spiraled and things have become awkward when his friends keep sending him job openings for positions that require a degree he does not possess.
Fielder helps him “rehearse” how to fess up, with methods that include constructing an elaborate fake set that resembles the bar. (It’s unnecessarily elaborate, but that’s why it’s funny.) In an even stranger plotline, Fielder also helps Angela, a Born-again Christian in Oregon, do a simulation of parenthood.
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