"Living With Yourself" starts with a day at the spa
That makes sense. If you want to live with yourself, getting a massage is the best way to do that.
I do have a few gripes, though. The first time a spa trip is mentioned, Paul Rudd’s character cracks a joke about hand-jobs. It does not help the massage profession when media insist on making it a sex joke every time it’s mentioned.
I appreciated that massage was mentioned in The Expanse without it being a sex joke, but it was a joking matter nonetheless.
The first time, a character said, “does anyone need a back rub first?” because he/she wanted them to get moving faster. Actually, a back rub would be great to improve productivity!
The second time, a character said, “A peace summit? What next, foot massages too?”. I would have loved for someone to respond with “Great idea, we’ll add foot massages to the agenda. We could all use calmer minds to focus on our next strategy”.
I ignored the joke that Paul Rudd’s character made in “Living with Yourself” equating massages with hand-jobs, and kept watching the show.
The interior design of the Top Happy Spa is fun. The first place I ever worked as a massage therapist was a hair salon called “The Purple Parlor”. It was fun that everything was purple in Top Happy.
I imagine he thinks he’s about to experience a really fantastic massage that will give him a whole new perspective on life. And he’s willing to pay $5,000 for it. Maybe I should increase my prices 😉
We get a silly shot of him feeling awkward in this mysterious spa, as I am sure most clients feel before a spa treatment. I know that I still feel awkward when I lay down on a table in a new environment, despite having done it hundreds of times. One of the reasons I get regular massages at new locations is to stay on my toes with how it feels to be a client.
I received my very first massage by a non-family member when I was 17. I attended an “Introduction to Massage Therapy” class for two months while I was in high school. I remember my first day asking if I could just watch and practice and not have to receive massages. A man laughed and said he wants just the opposite! The joke helped me relax a bit and by the end of that evening I received a massage and realized how silly I was for wanting to opt out.
Anyway, the show is really great, once you get past the sex joke and if you can allow your profession to be poked fun of a little bit here and there.
Here’s a review I enjoyed from someone who isn’t viewing it from the lens of a massage therapist:
https://ew.com/tv-reviews/2019/10/13/living-with-yourself-netflix-paul-rudd-review/