Don't Worry, weglaufen geht nicht

Like an AA meeting: disjointed, funny, moving, boring, inspiring and, ultimately, rewarding.

The actors are mesmerising. Joaquin Phoenix recovers nicely here from his misstep with Mary Magdalene but it's Jonah Hill as the sage gay sponsor who steals the film with a subtle portrayal imbued with nonchalant spirituality. Rock stars Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth) and Beth Ditto (Gossip) make appearances and Ditto turns in a solid gold performance that left me hoping she'll continue down the acting path.

Despite being overlong and bogged down with unnecessarily complicated timeline, the overall film moved me and made me glad I got past the clunky title and misleading rom-com poster.

I watched this at home on DVD from our public library. My wife lasted 20 minutes, she left during the scene Callahan was vomiting into a water trough. As it turns out that was the very low point of the story.

This movie is based on the true story of John Callahan, general slacker who drank too much and at age 21 was rendered wheelchair bound in an auto accident during a night of heavy drinking. The internet tells us:

John Michael Callahan (February 5, 1951 - July 24, 2010) was a cartoonist, artist, and musician in Portland, Oregon, noted for dealing with macabre subjects and physical disabilities.

Joaquin Phoenix is very good in the role of John Callahan. During his recovery, and gaining partial use of his arms and hands, began drawing cartoons just for the fun of it. One of them was a wheelchair and the caption was the title of this movie. He became noticed and got a regular gig as a cartoonist.

The movie also shows a lot of the AA meetings he attended and his gradual recovery to sobriety. Good movie of a difficult subject. Not all viewers will enjoy it.

I found it to be a strangely dark comedy. Or rather it was funny despite the subject manner.

So technically a true story about a man named John Callahan who was an alcoholic and became paralyzed in a car accident because of his addiction to the bottle, but ends up living his best life due to his involvement with alcoholics anonymous.

So maybe not so dark now that I think about it as the story was uplifting and inspiring.

Joaquin Phoenix was a pleasure to see on the screen. Very lively and believable as a man chasing some demons, but keeping his sense of humor and positive attitude.

And we needed that liveliness as some of the 12 steps in the movie were not that flush out as well as others.

Gus Van Sant's ability to do such a serious content and give it to us in a humorous way makes for an Impressive film.

From a technical viewpoint, very well executed - lighting and Cinematography were excellent. As for writing - every character in this is so well conveyed that the actors are able to do the story justice. Joaquin Phoenix did an excellent job as expected - both him and Jonah Hill really showed some emotional range in their roles. Rooney Mara's performance was great and her chemistry with Mr. Callahan was palpable; although not nearly as much so as Mr. Callahan's screen chemistry with Donny. Even the time Jack Black and Joaquin have on screen together is magical - and weirdly enough I don't think they could've cast anyone better for Jack Black's character.

The movie ended up being more of an exploration of 12 step program than I expected, but by the end it actually gave me deeper insight and understanding of those struggling with alcoholism who seek help. Knowing tons of people who've gone through the program (recurring ones and success stories) it's given me a slightly deeper appreciation for anyone's struggle/experience.

Wow, what a compelling and dramatic performance by Jonah Hill ....and of course Joaquin Phoenix. I come to expect great and unique performances in everything that Joaquin does and am never disappointed, but what really stood out to me in this film was the performance of Jonah Hill. From what the announcer at Sundance 2018 described as a "chameleon like character", Jonah really drives it home with his portrayal as Donnie, the AA friend and sponsor to Joaquin's true life character John Callahan.

Much like the comics that John Callahan has made over the years, this movie is filled with a lot of humor, despite the struggles he faced throughout his life, including his addiction to alcohol. Donnie is there as a source of inspiration and guidance to John in helping him overcome these obstacles while also providing some comic relief. Jonah's performance really gives depth and insight to Joaquin's character as he struggles to pick up the pieces of his shattered life and continues on his journey to make some of the most outlandish and though provoking comics of his time.

Overall, I highly recommend watching this, as I feel we can all relate the context on some level. It will be quite the tear jerker towards the end and also allow you to empathize with both Donnie and John as they help each other overcome life's many hardships.