DRUNKS (1995)
I picked up the movie, Drunks starring
Richard Lewis and a somewhat sizeable ensemble cast, at the
library a few days ago and finally watched it tonight. It looked
like it might be semi- interesting, but it turns out, that surely
wasn't the case. At least I didn't think so...
Well, to start off- I am not an alcoholic. I don't drink at all
actually, and I've never done any drug, so I'm not an addict of
any kind either. Maybe I'm not the target audience for the film,
because it seems so many positive reviews for the movie were from
addicts themselves telling how it touched them or how it's
realistic in the view of AA meetings and the lives of addicts.
Second- I don't buy into this BS that alcoholism is a disease.
Alcoholism is something you cause, and it's something you can
control- don't try to tell me that the human brain isn't stronger
than a bottle of booze, because you would never convince me of
any such thing. I think it's considered a disease, because we
live in a time where people refuse to take responsibility for
their actions, and want to blame it on a "disease" they
have and have little control over. They're "sick," so
it's ultimately not their fault. Bologna. If alcoholism were
truly a disease, it would take control of your arms and hands
where you weren't able to NOT drink, because your muscles force
booze into your body. YOU buy the booze, YOU pick up the bottle,
YOU decide to drink and drink and keep drinking. Not a disease,
and I find it insulting to people who have real diseases.
Anyhow, off the rant...the film itself is just
depressing...utterly boring. A bunch of drunks who have no
likeable characteristics, telling their sob stories about how
they have ruined the lives of everyone around them, and how they
want more than anything to just have a drink.
The actors do a fairly decent job portraying the alcoholics, even
Richard Lewis does a decent job, tho his character is extremely
unlikeable to me, and I couldn't feel much of anything for him.
The film itself is centered around Lewis who got sober for 2 yrs
for a woman he married...was in love with the girl, but she
suddenly dies and he's back where he started. He comes to the AA
meeting at a Times Square church, others show up, they start to
tell their stories and introduce themselves. Lewis' character
leaves soon after the start of the meeting and the other are
concerned- concern that doesn't last very long, because they
never talk about him again, besides a phone call to his house. We
see Lewis meet up with a hooker he knows, tho she wants to get
high and he doesn't have any drugs for her...he goes to a bar he
used to ferquent, and he buys some heroine. He does drink,
ruining however many days or months of sobriety he has, and in
the end we see him start all over at a new AA meeting during the
day.
It's a boring film about a bunch of boring, annoying drunks.
Unless you're a drunk yourself, are maybe you have a close person
in your life who is an alcoholic- and you want to use this film
to get some insight...I doubt many people will enjoy this. I
don't know many people who want to watch a 90 minute film where
very little happens, some drunks tell some uninteresting stories
about their miserable lives, and that's that. I was not at all
impressed.
BACK TO THE BLUE SITE MOVIES PAGE