Like every ‘80s and ‘90s kid, I grew up with Harrison Ford as the chief avatar of cool manhood. Han Solo, Indiana Jones, Blade Runner, Witness, Air Force One, et cetera.
But admittedly, it’s been a little bittersweet watching Harrison grow old, like we’ve all got to in the end. He kept on as an action hero as long as he could, but the somewhat desultory return of a tragedy-wracked Han Solo in Star Wars sequels and a final Indiana Jones movie (which I admit I pretty much forgot about as soon as I saw it) were pretty faint flickers of that whip-cracking adventurer we all remember. By the time Ford was turning red and hulking up in a Marvel movie, I felt like it might be time for him to quietly turn down the action hero roles. He often seemed bored in these later movies.
But now at 83 years old, Harrison Ford has surprised me with his fantastic turn as part of a sitcom ensemble of all things, in the warm ’n’ witty Apple TV series Shrinking, which has just kicked off season 3. Ford costars with the show’s co-creator Jason Segel as his therapist mentor Paul, and he’s a cranky delight. A cozy comedy/drama set in a therapists’ office, Shrinking, co-created by Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence, is one of those shows that embraces humour and sadness, often in the same scene.
Ford’s Paul is the mentor to Segel’s fumbling younger therapist Jimmy, but he’s also battling recently diagnosed Parkinson’s disease, and entering into a late-in-life love affair with his former neurologist. Ford is braver and funnier in Shrinking than he’s been in ages, and got a well-deserved Emmy nomination for his work (he should’ve won).
A little bit of vulnerability has always been a key part of the Ford charm – the way his Indiana Jones would wince when he got bruised and battered, the haunted charisma he brought to The Fugitive. With Shrinking, Ford is embracing his early 80s and showing us a man painfully facing his own mortality, as his body breaks down on him slowly. Dwarfed by the 6’ 4” Segel in many scenes, a smaller, wiry Ford looks his age, but if anything Shrinking has given his acting more power than it’s had in years.
Shrinking is a show blessed with a top quality ensemble and snappy, sharp and quippy writing, from the enjoyable gawky Segel to reliable sitcom stars like Scrubs’ Christa Miller as a pushy neighbour and the great Ted McGinley, who’s been in everything from Happy Days to Married With Children and is doing his own best work in years as chill retiree dad Derek. The Daily Show’s Jessica Williams is a snarky delight as well.
Yet it’s Ford, with such a rich and storied screen history behind him, who stands out the most on Shrinking. Harrison Ford gets underrated as an actor – his sole Oscar nod was for Witness, although frankly The Fugitive, Mosquito Coast, and his still somehow underrated performance in Raiders Of The Lost Ark should’ve gotten him nominations as well.
It’s a show that’s happy to get sappy – the main characters are all processing their own various traumas along the way – but I find its view ultimately kind of optimistic about how we can all get better, and that’s comfort food in this dark timeline the world seems to be in.
Ford, as always, underplays with tremendous effect, knowing how to use a tiny gesture or raised eyebrow – his Parkinson’s tremors, his frustration with having to curtail his therapy career, his joy at finding a new wife and his fears over how long it will all last. It’s a tricky line to play such a character and not make it a mawkish bid for sympathy – and Shrinking sometimes does get a little too sentimental for its own good. But Ford makes Paul human – short-tempered and irritable, yet still finding acceptance with his makeshift family. And there’s no star ego here – he seamlessly meshes into the Shrinking ensemble and is a generous scene partner – his scenes with Segel’s teenage daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell) are always strong.
At 83, you wouldn’t fault Harrison Ford if he just retired to his ranch in Montana or something. Instead, this consummate professional is giving us the gift of an action hero growing old gracefully, facing whatever comes next with honesty and humour — and in the process maybe showing us his most heroic portrayal of all.
Nik Dirga 