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Permanent Midnight
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Permanent Midnight (1998) More at IMDbPro »

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Permanent Midnight (1998) -- Open-ended Trailer from Artisan

Overview

User Rating:
6.1/10   3,637 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 4% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
David Veloz
Writers (WGA):
Jerry Stahl (book)
David Veloz (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Permanent Midnight on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
16 September 1998 (USA) more
Plot:
Comedy writer Jerry Stahl (Ben Stiller), whose $6000-a-week heroin habit had him taking his infant daughter... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(6 articles)
Ben Stiller is Here to 'Spread Goodness'
 (From Get The Big Picture. 4 May 2009, 12:42 AM, PDT)

Hollyscoop Party Round Up From Los Angeles To Las Vegas
 (From HollyScoop. 13 April 2009, 4:41 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Ben Stiller Takes a Good Dramatic Turn more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Ben Stiller ... Jerry Stahl
Maria Bello ... Kitty

Jay Paulson ... Phoenix Punk

Spencer Garrett ... Brad / Tim from Mr. Chompers

Owen Wilson ... Nicky

Elizabeth Hurley ... Sandra
Lourdes Benedicto ... Vola

Fred Willard ... Craig Ziffer
Chauncey Leopardi ... Jerry at 16
Mary Thompson ... Grandma Whittle

Connie Nielsen ... Dagmar

Charles Fleischer ... Allen from Mr. Chompers

Liz Torres ... Dita
Douglas Spain ... Miguel

Janeane Garofalo ... Jana Farmer
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for pervasive graphic drug use, strong sexuality and language.
Runtime:
88 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital | SDDS
Company:
JD Productions more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Cameo: [Jerry Stahl]The real Jerry Stahl has a cameo as Dr. Murphy. more
Goofs:
Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Jerry is at the methadone clinic, the doctor is checking boxes on a form he's filling out. The questions he asks Jerry do not match the boxes he checks. more
Quotes:
Nicky: If I were Percodan where would I be? more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Ben Stiller/Alanis Morrisette (#24.4)" (1998) more
Soundtrack:
JINGLE BELLS more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful:-
Ben Stiller Takes a Good Dramatic Turn, 5 March 2003
7/10
Author: gbheron from Washington, DC

Poor little rich kid, Jerry Stahl, an actual TV screenwriter in 1980s Hollywood, p***es all his good fortune away through a hefty heroin habit. Jerry then hits bottom, recovers, and writes his autobiography. "Permanent Midnight" chronicles Jerry's fall from Hollywood hotshot to junkie bum. Besides such an unpleasant subject, and an equally unsympathetic main character, "Permanent Midnight" still entertains, in a morbid sort of way. It's told in flashback (at the beginning of the movie Jerry's just finished rehab and is about to return to his old LA haunts), so we kind of know where the movie will take us. There's no mystery, we're going to watch Jerry's self-destructive crash and burn in close-up. We're a little in the dark about what will happen after the movie catches up with itself, but there's really not a lot of tension. It's like watching a car wreck in very slow motion.

Ben Stiller does an excellent job portraying Jerry, with his craving for the drug rising above, and then destroying, all that's good in his life. It's quite a frightening portrayal. Elizabeth Hurley, as his girlfriend, is a bit of a stretch for both her acting talent and in the casting. But the rest of the cast does fine work. I think the major detriment to this movie is that the audience knows beforehand how it will all end. This is a very dramatic subject, but with no drama in the screenplay. And that is a drag.

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Smoking crack in the highrise colby-14
When he got pulled over. . . LoadedRevolver66
interesting trivia baleful_briand
Can't believe...... osgrl
Stiller Needs to take... jason-mousseau
This movie was great.. Jennifer22140
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