The Rehearsal is Unlike Anything We’ve Seen
“There are several components to a good rehearsal…but I’ve recently come to realize I’ve been neglecting one key component of every crucial life event: feelings.”
Nathan Fielder has returned to television after the critically acclaimed and hilarious reality comedy “Nathan For You,” and we again see Fielder’s deadpan humor perfected with the added journey into his twisted mind. In “The Rehearsal,” Fielder transforms a comic parody of reality television into a psychological journey throughout life’s greatest challenges by interrogating the relationships between director and subject, viewer and television, and Nathan and the world around him. Presented to the audience is a meta-textual examination of our reality in all of its faults with an ending that will leave you laughing from the sheer ridiculousness of Fielder’s methods and the surprising emotional depth in every outrageous line.
Much like the subjects of Fielder’s rehearsals, and eventually Fielder himself, the viewer finds themselves sinking into the complex rouses developed to prepare participants for difficult life events. The first episode sees Fielder aiding a trivia obsessed teacher, Kor, in confessing to his best friend that he doesn’t actually have a Masters degree. A lie years in the making, one can’t simply jump into such a stressful situation ill prepared. In steps tv personality and questionable life coach Nathan Fielder, who has even rehearsed his meeting with Kor. The opening minutes thus act as a preparation for the audience, warning them of the reality bending show they’re about to witness, and the brand of comedy that is certainly not for everyone. In the cut from Kor’s actor to the man himself, there is a jarring shift that leaves the audience wondering what else Fielder has prepared for. As it turns out, everything.
From building replicas of Kor’s hometown bar and transporting it across the country to mimicking the entire season of Winter, a great deal of the shows surreal humor stems from the questionable feats Fielder executes and the ridiculousness of their premise. It’s incredible to watch the teetering of legal boundaries by routinely changing child actors as much as it is concerning. Multiple episodes have stunts that, when paired with booming orchestral symphonies, have the grandiosity required to shatter the audiences perception of the show and television as a whole. The breaking of expectations through the most round about solutions to simple problems is a staple of Fielder’s comedy, and is doubly what makes this show so unique. There aren’t jokes being told, rather out of this world scenarios somehow coming to life. Add in Fielder’s deadpan humor with editing so solid it proves jokes can be fixed in post, and somehow Fielder has managed to pull off a form of comedy completely his own for the second time.
Like any revolutionary, Fielder’s innovations are not universally hailed as a masterful quite yet. In fact, since he broke onto the scene with “Nathan for You” he has been a target for the manipulative tactics that taint his brand. Ask anyone how they like “The Rehearsal” and they’ll either shower it with praise or give a “meh” that exudes discomfort. However, this reveals the true nuances of “The Rehearsal,” as with other concepts you wouldn’t expect from a reality show parody, “The Rehearsal” critiques Fielder’s comedy with nuance and emotion. The confrontation comes in episode five, where Nathan rehearses a conversation with his pretend wife Angela using an actor from his acting class (where he took over the life of an actor, and on it on it goes…). The fake Angela berates Nathan, questioning him on what he’s doing on this show. Is her life the joke? Are the subjects of Nathan’s show portrayed in a way that is dehumanizing in its comedy? Here, Fielder’s brand is attacked, and by extension, the audience is at well. If Nathan is a villain for creating the situations, what does that make us for enjoying and motivating them? Again, this level of nuance is common for the show, as Fielder’s experiments grow more complex, so do their themes. Adulthood, generational trauma, religious upbringings, inhumane elements of the entertainment industry, and so much more are presented through comedy and explored in meta-textual drama. In this way, “The Rehearsal” is one of the smartest shows on television for its innovative surrealist comedy, unique exploration of thought provoking themes, attack on long established relationships between viewer and product, and the emotional core at the center of it all: Nathan himself.
More than a social experiment or parody, “The Rehearsal” is an examination of Nathan Fielder as a character. Having the host narrate his own journey is a jarring approach to narrative that solidifies “The Rehearsal” as one of a kind. Beginning with Nathan learning the power at his disposal when compared to Willy Wonka in episode one to becoming fully submerged in his altered reality by episode 6, the audience watches an emotionless Nathan craft a world around him, a world that gives him the emotional spark he so desperately craves. Much like the show itself, it’s always difficult to tell when Fielder is acting as he does in reality, for the show, or if there’s even a separation between the two. Again, the discomfort that stems from Fielder’s descent into a god crafting his own perfect world is both hilarious and unsettling, perhaps even being hilarious because it’s unsettling.
And that’s what the show is essentially about: the millions of permutations, uncomfortable or not, hidden in the daily minutia of everyday life. By having episodes where Nathan becomes a father, rewinds time in the experiment, struggles being a good parent, learns the difficulties of religious dichotomies while raising a child, and witnesses the consequences of it all, “The Rehearsal” is a true reality television show despite being the most outwardly falsified. Here, we see glimpses of life not made aware to the general public, scenes played with such seriousness and drama that the viewer becomes sucked into Nathan’s imaginary world as much as he does, and when you expect it the least, Fielder shatters your expectations and the reality he built. Through the meta-textual humor, surprising emotion, reflections of humanities greatest challenges, and the exploration of Nathan as a character, “The Rehearsal” becomes more than a reality television show, it becomes a psychological examination of humanity through the eyes of a truly twisted mind. Keep practicing Nathan Fielder, I’ll be there opening night.