Alice

On the advice of several friends, upscale New Yorker Alice Tate visits acupuncturist Dr. Yang for therapy to deal with her back problem. Dr. Yang diagnoses Alice's physical problem as a manifestation of her emotional issues, primarily her dissatisfaction with her 16-year marriage to wealthy Doug Tate, and her superficial and pampered life filled primarily with shopping, spa treatments, and facelifts. Dr. Yang, who is much more than an acupuncturist, prescribes a course of herbal treatments, to which Alice adheres strictly despite her skepticism. Each individual herbal treatment has a different fantastical effect on Alice, which allows her to at least feel uninhibited enough to find out more about the man at her children's school to whom she is attracted. She learns that he is musician and divorced father Joe Ruffalo. The treatments also allow her, among other things, to communicate with deceased ex-boyfriend Ed, to ask for his advice on her situation. Through her relationship with Dr. Yang, Alice could come to some conclusions about what she wants to do with her entire life, and not just those parts related to Doug or Joe, and how best to move toward those end goals.