Drunks

I rented this and was very surprised by how good it was.

The writing was so strong and the actors took those words and soared. There is not one false note. It felt like a CASSAVETTES film. Honesty on screen is what I look for in films.

This film felt like real life. Real time. I could relate to these characters. Feel their pain.

Their stories were compelling. I couldn't take my eyes of the screen

My favorite performances were Lisa Gay Hamilton and the late Howard Rollins.

They moved me to tears. I hope this movie gets to be seen by others who are struggling with addiction. The message finally got to me and it is interesting that it came to me in the guise of a movie. I am now going out and buying the DVD and the play that the film is based on.

Thank you to the film makers.

they say in the program "one day at a time". some days are harder than others. DRUNKs represents that better than any film i have ever seen. I am the member of a twelve step program. I think it is one of the greatest international communities that exists. it has changed countless lives and i am hard pressed to think or find one person who's life hasn't been affected positively by it's existence. it is a secular religion -if you will.

I believe this is the most realistic and resonant film that has ever taken as it's focus the program and it's demographic busting community.

i think the level of talent that came together to make this is a testament to it's quality.

it is not a rose colored take on the community. it reflects as does the program the myriad ways that people use, don't use, succeed and fail.

it is the truth as i experience it.

"Drunks" is a satisfying glimpse into an AA meeting. The setting is realistic; it takes place in what appears to be a basement room of a church - there is coffee, cigarette smoking, and people who are on the edge. The movie's strength resides in its incredibly gifted cast: Diane Wiest (a particularly superb, understated performance to which we've become accustomed), Harold Robbins, Jr.,(you can feel his tension), Spaulding Grey (the ultimate humorist), Amanda Plummer (fantastic), Sam Rockwell (who is, unfortunately, underutilized). Also giving nice turns are Calista Flockhart (not yet marked with the Ally McBeal imprint) and Faye Dunaway (whose rich, deep voice resonates as ever). And, of course, there's Richard Lewis, who effectively applies his ample, frenetic energy in a bold, dramatic direction as a recovering alcoholic who takes a nose-dive off the wagon. We watch as Lewis's partners from AA, worried about his sobriety, try in vain to contact him. Meanwile, the movie turns it focus to the other characters attending the meeting. Some may be of the opinion that this movie should have allowed the main characters more time to develop their personal stories. However, not all people who attend an AA meeting say that much - or actively participate at all. While this was disappointing in the sense that one is left wanting more screen time from such capable actors, the writer and director maintained the veracity of the subject matter. "Drunks" provides the viewer with a realistic depiction of addiction as a symptom of "inner demons." The characters whose lives we get to peek into share this manifestation of the pain they carry deep inside, but their monologues shows us that the reasons for their pain are unique. Unlike, "Days of Wine and Roses," where the plot revolves around how just two characters play off of each other, "Drunks" uses short vignettes - almost like headlines - to punctuate a multitude of perspectives on the same disease.

As a recovering alcoholic, and having seen some of the "preachy" movies, or the drama of Days of Wine and Roses, I found this movie to be just what it is, an AA meetings. Nothing to prove. Nothing to say. Each telling his story and one can take what he needs, and leave the rest. I enjoyed it as a means of letting others get an inside look at a meeting. Not much else to say. As for the relapse of Lewis, and his going back out and using, it was OK, but his return at the end, starting all over again, is just the way it is. Good movie, but not good enough to watch again and again.

WOW!!!! As a movie goer who watches at least four films per week, and who is very interested in the harrowing politics of the human soul, I can safely say that there has never been a better movie about alcoholism (no, not even "Days of Wine and Roses") than "Drunks". When I read the plot synopsis on the back cover of the tape case, I was expecting some preachy AA recruitment nonsense. This movie was nothing of the sort. "Drunks" is, for better or worse, a very realistic treatment of addiction, and of 12 step programs in general. The format of the film juxtaposes monologues from AA members during a meeting, with one off- the- wagon evening in the life of Richard Louis' character (I can't remember his name).

Richard Louis is not one of my favorite comedians (understatement of the year), but he pulls off a tour de force performance here. Due to Louis's textured performance, towards the end of "Drunks" I reached a full

understanding of his character, and the knowledge that recovery isn't just "quitting the sauce", but an individual's willingness to look his demons in the eye, and face up to his own particular hell. The ensemble cast of talented actors (including Calista Flockhart, Faye Dunawaye, Dianne Weist, Parker Posey, and a highly amusing Spaulding Grey) do wonders with their monolouges, which are so well written, you feel like you are there, eavesdropping on a meeting in a Times Square church meeting. I absolutely recommend this movie. I wish that it had gotten more publicity during its original theatrical release.