By Dylan Marsh
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
Nathan Fielder has made his triumphant return to television. The dead-pan comedian, who hails from Canada, became widely popular in the United States with his Comedy Central television show “Nathan for You”, in which he helped struggling businesses with outlandish ideas. In Fielder’s newest outing he has opted to help individuals rather than businesses, and he is going at great lengths to do so.
The Rehearsal, now streaming on HBO Max, is a docu-comedy series running about 45 minutes. It explores the idea that Fielder had while working on his previous show, “what if you could rehearse your life,” and with only one episode having been aired, it is frankly a masterpiece of television.
The first episode focuses on a man who has been less than honest with a group of his friends about his collegiate degrees and wants to finally tell the truth. The man, Kor, responded to an intentionally vague Craigslist ad looking for someone who wanted to get something off of their chest. Fielder’s team does some research on the gentleman, including sending an undercover crew to Kor’s house, disguised as gas company employees, to map the layout of his home. The reason for the layout, to completely reconstruct a set of his home in a warehouse, reminiscent of 2008’s Synecdoche New York, Fielder had rented.
Fielder, or maybe a character he is playing, is known for two things; his uncomfortably awkward demeanor, and the lengths to which he will follow an idea. He has perfected those two things in order to document intensely human moments.
In the Rehearsal, Fielder encourages his “subjects” to enact a potential encounter they intend to have by making incredibly detailed sets from their lives. They are expected to work with actors and run the “scene” over and over until they are able to find the desired result. Fielder stands nearby with a laptop observing, and documenting, every point of conversation, and creating a diagram of every speaking point and where the “subject” should go next conversationally for the best results. This sort of arduous task all in the name of preparing for pretty mundane events could all be undone if the “subject” were to just say, “This is a bit much, I think I’ll just do it myself.” Fielder’s infectious dedication to the idea and the seriousness in which he takes the rehearsals keep the show alive. Not to mention Fielder bringing up potentially embarrassing talking points in hopes of “bonding” with his new found guests.
As it always seems to be with Feidler though, these honest bonding moments aren’t what they seem and while we get to know the “subjects” of the show better than we ever could have, the audience still may never really get to know Feidler himself.
The Rehearsal hopes to discover if we can prepare for any moment in our lives. I can’t say whether or not that is true, but I can say finding out will make for potentially the best television show this year.
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