Permanent Midnight (1998)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

David Veloz

Writers (WGA):

Jerry Stahl (book)
David Veloz (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 September 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Comedy writer Jerry Stahl (Ben Stiller), whose $6000-a-week heroin habit had him taking his infant daughter...

Plot Keywords:

Habit | Flashback | Writer | Detox | Heroin

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

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

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

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:18 | USA:R | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R18

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

JD Productions

Trivia:

Cameo: [Jerry Stahl]The real Jerry Stahl has a cameo as Dr. Murphy.

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.

Quotes:

Nicky: If I were Percodan where would I be?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Ben Stiller/Alanis Morrisette (#24.4)" (1998)

Soundtrack:

JINGLE BELLS

Ben Stiller Takes a Good Dramatic Turn

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.