When a Man Loves a Woman (1994)

Director:

Luis Mandoki

Writers (WGA):

Ronald Bass (written by) &
Al Franken (written by)

Release Date:

13 May 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Through the good times. Through the bad times. When a Man Loves a Woman it's for all times.

Plot:

An airline pilot and his wife are forced to face the consequences of her alcoholism when her addictions threaten her life and their daughter's safety. While the woman enters detox, her husband must face the truth of his enabling behavior. |

Plot Keywords:

Poignant | Melancholy | Recovery | Family Crisis | Reflection

Awards:

3 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. May 24	3:00 PM	OXYGEN
Sun. May 25	2:00 PM	OXYGEN

Cast

Andy Garcia	...	Michael Green
Meg Ryan	...	Alice Green
Ellen Burstyn	...	Emily
Tina Majorino	...	Jessica Green
Mae Whitman	...	Casey Green
Lauren Tom	...	Amy
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Gary
Eugene Roche	...	Walter
Gail Strickland	...	Pam
Steven Brill	...	Madras tie guy
Susanna Thompson	...	Janet
Erinn Canavan	...	Shannon
LaTanya Richardson	...	Dr. Gina Mendez
Bari K. Willerford	...	Malcolm
James Jude Courtney	...	Earl

Also Known As:

Significant Other (USA) (working title)
To Have and to Hold

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Thai

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

The original title was "Significant Other".

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Michael approaches Amy and her family in the Asian restaurant, the caption says they are speaking Chinese. They are actually speaking Vietnamese.

Quotes:

Alice Green: It's horrifying how much you can hate yourself for being low and weak and he couldn't save me from that. So I turned it on him; I tried to empty it onto him. But there was always more, you know. When he tried to help I told him that he made me feel small and worthless...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Frasier: When a Man Loves Two Women (#6.21)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Stewart's coat

FACING THE TRUTH

Simply put, When A Man Loves A Woman is the best story about family in America since Ordinary People and Shoot The Moon. If that sounds a bit overblown -- too bad, because it's true. As a self professed fan of foreign films, this film manages to take an honest look at alcoholism and relationships rarely seen in American films. The actors inhabit a whole life here -- they feel like a real family with entire past lives. Every actor hits the right tone -- Meg Ryan is commanding, Andy Garcia simply takes his time, as does Tina Majorino, who gives a performance alongside Haley Joel Osment's in The Sixth Sense. Another rare take the script accomplishes (with Garcia's considerable help)is conveying Michael's emotional life and struggles with loving his wife in an expected - a layer also unseen in American films. This story asks uneasy questions and dosen't always profess to know the answers -- and sometimes, that's all we have.