Permanent Midnight

I think Ben Stiller is one of the most talented comic actors currently working, even though he is often in awful movies (e.g. 'Zoolander', 'The Suburbans'). 'Permanent Midnight' is one of the best movies he has been involved with and features what is arguably his single finest performance. Based on the autobiography of TV hack writer Jerry Stahl, this is a smart, fresh and blackly humorous look at addiction and Hollywood. Stiller has a fine supporting cast here, especially his buddies and frequent co-stars Owen Wilson ('Bottle Rocket') and Janeane Garofolo ('Reality Bites'), the amazingly charismatic star-in-the-making Peter Greene ('Laws Of Gravity'), and comedy veteran Fred Willard ('Best In Show'), who all have small but memorable roles. Hell, even Liz Hurley and Cheryl Ladd are good in this, believe it or not. 'Permanent Midnight' was, like so many other good movies that don't pander to a mass audience, a box office flop, but will hopefully find a larger audience in years to come via video and DVD. I think it is one of the most underrated movies of the last ten years, and highly recommend it.

Ben Stiller was extremely convincing. His portrayal of man who is distracted by his addiction at all times is excellent.

Unfortunately, that's the only redeeming thing about this film (aside from the chance to stare at Elizabeth Hurley, of course.)

I read in an above commentary that the viewer is never shown that Jerry is brilliant. I couldn't agree more. I want to think of him as a tortured genius, but it's tough to do when I'm given no reason to believe that he's anything more than a lowlife junkhead.

One thing I was impressed with was the scene in which Jerry and Redfoot (whatever his name is in this thing) are bouncing off of the windows, several stories above the street. Impressive filmwork, good use of Prodigy, etc.

Disappointing, to say the least.

Permanent Midnight, while certainly not the best film ever made about heroin addiction, is a very solid film that was largely over looked by both critics and the public. The brightest jewel in this film's crown is Ben Stiller's performance as Jerry Stahl. I found it interesting that while Stiller got loads of attention for getting his "package" caught in his zipper in "There's Something About Mary" (which is a very funny moive) hardly an eye was blinked when he gave the performance of his career in "Midnight." I think this film proves the theory that often comedic actors give the best dramatic performances. Do yourself a favor and rent it.

Most of the drug-use scenes were fairly realistic. Been there and back myself, so to tell you the truth, nothing I saw in the movie made me wince, although there was a lot to relate to. There's a scene where - this really isn't a spoiler, given the context of the movie - where Jerry dumps some pills out of a prescription bottle, and they look exactly like the kind of pills they're supposed to be. Nice attention to detail. One thing that movies never quite get right or, perhaps like this one, simply choose to ignore, are the details of how one actually turns one's life around from being addicted to recovering, and this movie was no exception. We know in the beginning that Jerry has been through rehab, but that process itself, which may I say ain't exactly a cakewalk - and I mean you have to be clean before you can go through it, remains rather mysterious. Oh well, whatever, an interesting, entertaining movie that held my interest for its running time. Some usage scenes might be a bit upsetting to the non-anointed, although probably nothing quite so hard to take as in Requiem For A Dream.

Permanent Midnight is the autobiographical story of the life and times of Jerry Stahl. This was a movie that tested the boundaries of what could be shown on the movie screen. Ben Stiller's performance as Jerry Stahl was dramatic to say the least. Stiller's performance was excellent and really showed me the flipside of what could happen to somebody when they get hooked on drugs. The whole cast from Maria Bello to Elizabeth Hurley were solid support for the main character, Jerry Stahl. The real Jerry Stahl actually had a role, which surprised me, as Dr. Murphy from the drug rehabilitation clinic. Stahl recounts his life from a hotel room while having a sexual encounter he met while he was working at a restaurant drive-thru. The way that the director lays out the film is perfect; it is different than what I have seen before. The way Jerry Stahl recounts his life the way he did pleasantly surprised me. I warn anyone who wants to watch Permanent Midnight to brace themselves for extreme drug use by sticking needles in arms and sensual love scenes. I recommend this film for its stars' performances.