Rating: Summary: True to life Review: This movie is very true to life about how a family can be broken apart, but there is hope to survive any addiction. The main character, Alice, played by Meg Ryan has an addiction to alcohol that is slowly destroying herself and her family. After a heart-wrenching incident with her oldest daughter she seeks help....but the road to recovery is a long one and her husband, wonderful played by Andy Garcia, must help in a way he does not know how. They both must learn how to be a family again. This story is a real. This is what really happens, with any addiction. A person on the road to recovery is a different person and all people, including oneself need to understand that and realize that and live with that. I hope that seeing this movie helps to put that point across, and there is hope. It is a wonderful story of love and hope.
Rating: Summary: Very good, touching, and an important movie to watch Review: This movie is very well written, and has a very definate plot which pulls on your emotions. I reccomend this video to anyone, especially those who could relate to the struggle of alchoholism. Good for ages 10 and up
Rating: Summary: How Meg Ryan saved my life Review: This movie may not be in the 'Days of Wine and Roses' league, in which the great, departed Jack Lemmon deservedly won a Best Actor Oscar. It is, however, a very significant film for me personally. Dealing very sensitively with alcoholism, the performances given by its two main stars, Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia, are, in my view, underestimated. I have watched this movie several times. I am a huge Meg Ryan fan, and, whilst this is not my personal favourite of hers, I feel that it proves that she is too good an actress to be typecast in romantic comedies. She looks the part as the alcoholic, and I intend to be merely complimentary in this assessment; Andy Garcia, equally, is fine as the 'al-anon' husband, with whom so many spouses can associate. I suppose I am somewhat biased in my opinion, as, not only am I a massive Meg addict, I have also (like Meg's character) pulled through alcohol addiction. For me, the scene towards the end of the video, where she, at the alcohol treatment centre, makes a speech, to declare that she has been sober for 184 days, is very poignant. I saw this movie when I was at my lowest ebb, traumatised by alcohol addiction. This scene was to save me, as I thought, if Meg can do it, so can I! Therefore, I white-knuckled it through 184 days, just like Meg, and I am now nearly at my fourth 184 days, after nearly two years of sobriety. I'll never know whether this film would have had such a profound effect on me if someone else had played that part. But, in my view, no-one else would have been able to play that part to such good effect. The carefree girl from 'When Harry Met Sally', reduced to alcoholism. That's why it was effective, and, for me, a life saver. So a big thank you to Meg Ryan, and not to forget Andy Garcia. Seeing an alcoholic deteriorate through the eyes of a loved one is always inspiring to those who wish to combat the illness. Not a great movie, as I said earlier, but a very underrated one. It saved this reviewer's life.
Rating: Summary: VERY GOOD Review: THIS MOVIE SHOWS HOW AN ALCOHOLIC WILL NOT ONLY HURT HIMSELF (OR HERSELF) BUT HOW HIS OR HER ALL ENTOURAGE WILL BE HURT. WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS MOVIE IS THE FACT THAT BEING ALCOHOLIC WAS SHOWN AS BEING A SICKNESS. IT IS SIMPLY THE STORY OF A SICK WOMAN (A SICK HUMAN BEING) TRYING TO GET BETTER WITH THE HELP OF HER LOVELY HUSBAND WHO DOES NOT KNOW EVERYTHING ECEPT THAT HE LOVES HIS WIFE.
Rating: Summary: Touching.......Tell all of your friends!! Review: This was a moving depiction of the perceptions of life and love. This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. It was so romantic and Andy Garcia is enough to make any movie worth seeing.
Rating: Summary: HOLLYWOOD STYLE DRUNKS Review: This will be short because with the many addiction/alcoholic films out there this is by far the most unrealistic. That is it's only and fatal problem. Meg Ryan is a truly beautiful woman. Far,far too beautiful to make a good alcoholic.As her husband,Andy Garcia comes across as a whiny little killjoy. Alcohol ravages the body and ruins skin tone. We are suppose to believe that Ms. ryan is so addicted to alcohol that she digs through trash cans to finish the dregs of a bottle of booze (as is seen in the film). It simply is not convincing. The pain and ugliness of alcoholism never are realized. Since the agony and horrible consequenses of being an active and then recovering alcoholic are the basis of the entire dramatic "impact" of the film, I kept waiting for the problem to get bad enough for me to care. It never did.
Rating: Summary: Too Much Reality, Sad, Sad , Sad. Review: Want to cry, see this movie. Want to get depressed, see this movie. Two great actors, sexy Andy Garcia as the overly nurturing husband & Meg Ryan as the alcoholic wife. Maybe because I am such a fan of Meg's I don't want to see her this way. She's capable of good serious acting, she's proven it in this one, but it isn't a great movie. Andy gets to blow-up a couple of times, and he's very good at it. But good acting doesn't necessarily make for a good movie. Dull headache after seeing this one.
Rating: Summary: Too Much Reality, Sad, Sad , Sad. Review: Want to cry, see this movie. Want to get depressed, see this movie. Two great actors, sexy Andy Garcia as the overly nurturing husband & Meg Ryan as the alcoholic wife. Maybe because I am such a fan of Meg's I don't want to see her this way. She's capable of good serious acting, she's proven it in this one, but it isn't a great movie. Andy gets to blow-up a couple of times, and he's very good at it. But good acting doesn't necessarily make for a good movie. Dull headache after seeing this one.
Rating: Summary: Riveting movie about the effects of alcoholism Review: When I first saw the title of this movie, I was thinking that this was going to be a romantic comedy. But, to my surprise, it was so much more. Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia are good as Alice and Michael Green. I liked the fact that the movie dealt with Alice's alcoholism. She realizes that she has a major problem with alcohol. Eventually, she goes into rehabilitation. I'm glad that they didn't stop the movie with her coming out of rehab and life will be all wonderful and fuzzy. What happens is that with Alice sober, Michael doesn't have anyone to rescue anymore. It is good to watch how their relationship changes with Alice's new found sobriety. Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia do a great job in showing how alcoholism can effectively mess up a relationship and family. It's been a while since I have seen this movie, but there are some wonderful supporting performances to mention. Tina Majorino as the oldest daughter, Jess, is astonishing. She shows a lot of emotion for the daughter of an alcoholic. I think that she could have easily been nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Also, Lauren Tom as Amy, the Green's nanny/housekeeper, is incredible. Her character does not really like Michael Green very much. The scene where Michael begs her to come back and help the family is great. Amy definitely does not make it easy for him. This movie is definitely not light-hearted fair. In fact, I would really not recommend this for children. But, for adults, I recommend this movie because it tackles alcoholism head on, especially with some not so pleasant views of Alice's alcoholism.
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