Caught this staying up late watching cable. Pity that its obvious flaws (Paul Hogan as a transplant Australian just didn't work) kept it from a larger audience. The sincerity of the delivery and the fine acting by Rosanna Arquette definitely makes this worth while. Anyone who has had problems with addiction can attest to the authenticity of the work: it is nice that for once a film is made that deals with Alcoholism without condescension or stereotypes, just raw truth and compassion. I haven't read the book ("Sorrow Floats") but I think I will now. I wonder if the book also has the somewhat unrealistic ending which I think also hurt the work a bit.
6 Reviews
Great movie.....
anlane10 July 2011
I finally saw this movie after wanting to see if for years. I disagree with other reviews in regards to having Paul Hogan in the cast. I felt that he played comic relief in the right way in the movie as he often does in his movies. I am not sure how people can say that an Australian transplant was unbelievable when you have people moving and living the American dream every day. It seemed to be a very well acted story about a very commonly held problem. Judge Reinhold was especially wonderful in the part and needs to be given credit for his acting ability as well. This is definitely a hidden gem of a movie that should have been more widely seen and shown.
Paul Hogan hurts otherwise good film about alcoholism
wmadavis13 December 2001
I very much wanted to see this film because I so enjoyed the Tim Sandlin trilogy (Skipped Parts, Sorrow Floats, Social Blunders) from which this film is derived. The books are far superior but this movie was able to capture some of the spirit of the book upon which it was based (Sorrow Floats). I couldn't accept the casting of Paul Hogan, with a thick Australian accent, stopping in the American South to see his mother -- who also has a thick Australian accent -- at what was supposed to be his boyhood home. He stuck out in the movie like a sore thumb. He also looked to be too healthy to be a dying wheelchair-bound alcoholic. When I read the book M. Emmett Walsh came to mind. There must be some odd story behind the casting of this film. The other movie to be based on these books, SKIPPED PARTS, is very good and remarkably loyal to the source.
A simple but great story about interesting people with alcoholic problems
shooman-215 August 2005
My comment may be a little subjective as I am a Rosanna's fun. But Hogan and Reinhold were great also (which I cannot tell for their other movies).
Yes, this is a movie about alcoholism, but it also can be watched without searching for some point in it. It's very relaxing, makes you fond of main characters, and you get the wish to go to them back and back again. It means, this is kind of movie that you can watch over and over again without getting bored.
Maybe the best recommendation is that this kind of mix of emotions, people's behaviors and interesting episodes in a movie is something that you don't see very often which is appreciated in today's movies.
Yes, this is a movie about alcoholism, but it also can be watched without searching for some point in it. It's very relaxing, makes you fond of main characters, and you get the wish to go to them back and back again. It means, this is kind of movie that you can watch over and over again without getting bored.
Maybe the best recommendation is that this kind of mix of emotions, people's behaviors and interesting episodes in a movie is something that you don't see very often which is appreciated in today's movies.
startlingly good
trahald200113 May 2002
I tuned in by accident to this film the other night on cable TV. In my opinion (with the exception of Executioner's Song and Fast Times at Ridgemont High), this is the finest work done by ANY of the lead actors---and the ONLY truly fine work EVER committed to celluloid by Paul Hogan in his life. The style, pacing, and 'Odyssean' elements of this remarkable film caught me by surprise---I couldn't tune away. Although I have never read any of the works of the author of the book upon which this film was based, I am impressed enough to want to. Director John Badham's earlier Saturday Night Live I think suggests the ability a quarter of a century later to adapt this obviously superior work of fiction.
Bitter Sweet & True
shannon71517 May 2001
Alcoholism is a lonely road and misery loves company. It's nice when conventional loved one and friends have a scrape goat to put their troubles on.but leaving a baby on a car seat on the back of a car? No.
It was very hard for me to watch this movie through tear soaked eyes. The best line.'Alcohol has no point.' So true. I think movies like this, including.'My Name Is Bill W.' & `Clean And Sober' Give a positive approach to a disease that we, as a nation, are plagued with. Paul Hogan was fantastic.as were all the actors dealing with such a difficult subject.. ****
It was very hard for me to watch this movie through tear soaked eyes. The best line.'Alcohol has no point.' So true. I think movies like this, including.'My Name Is Bill W.' & `Clean And Sober' Give a positive approach to a disease that we, as a nation, are plagued with. Paul Hogan was fantastic.as were all the actors dealing with such a difficult subject.. ****
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