Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins, Josh Gad, Gwyneth Paltrow, Pink, Patrick Fugit, Joely Richardson, Carol Kane, Michaela Watkins
Directed By: Stuart Blumberg
I frequently watch films that people didn’t seem to like, and I end up enjoying it. This is another one of those times. I thought it was a really interesting look about an addiction that not many people take seriously. I think it’s a nice balance of comedy mixed with some really dark moments, and you really get to understand the plight of people who are suffering from sex addiction. It ruins their life, like a drug that fuels increasingly bad decisions.
For Tim Robbins character, it almost ended his marriage. He was an alcoholic asshole, who ended up infecting his wife with Hepatitis C. Now, he’s been sober for many years, and believes in the program, and believes in the chain of support by going through a routine program. His son (Fugit) ended up being addicted to drugs, and recently returned saying he went “cold turkey”. Of course, his father is skeptical, keeping him at arms length, believing that you need routine, and a program, and you can’t go cold turkey.
For Ruffalo, he’s been sober for five years, which is a good amount of time. He’s now just wanting to get back into the dating scene, and he meets a girl (Paltrow), who has hangups about dating someone who is “in recovery”. Gad’s character is literally ruining his life with his addiction, which he first thinks is a joke, until he loses everything. Then, finally, he gets a wake up call, and even gets to help a friend (Pink) with her problems. She’s an addict too, and has never been able to have a male friend without there being sex, but their bond is strictly platonic.
There’s some really great performances in this film, and no one seemed to notice. Tim Robbins is great. Mark Ruffalo is great. Hell, even Josh Gad is great. Give this film a chance. I don’t know why everyone seems to hate it.
FINAL GRADE: A-
