God willing, this coming Wednesday (January 7, 2015) I will have 10 years of sobriety. Being an avid movie and TV viewer I have seen tons of movies that have that have depicted someone in recovery and/or showed a 12 Step meeting. Many times I have cringed at the these depictions as being wrong but there are some that I have really enjoyed. In no particular order here are some of my favourite recovery-based movies/TV shows. (Warning there ARE spoilers.)
Drunks stars Richard Lewis (a person of long term recovery). Lewis' character Jim has approximately five years of recovery but after a series of events he ends up relapsing, or what we in recovery call, "going back out." Between scenes of Jim going deeper and deeper into another rock bottom we see scenes of an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting going on. In this meeting we hear people share their personal feelings and experiences with recovery. Each story causes the hair on my arms to stand up - a sure sign, at least for me, of a good movie. While, in my experience, meetings aren't close to this depressing it's a good movie anyways. My favourite line in the movie is when Jim shows up at a meeting and shares, "Hi I'm Jim and I'm starting over".
Owning Mahowny stars Philip Seymour Hoffman (an addict who got sober the hard way). This flick is based on a true story about a Canadian banker who embezzled millions of dollars from his clients in order to support a brutal gambling addiction. While I am not a gambler I can totally relate to how Mahowny's addiction progresses and that no matter how bad things get he thinks that this time, this next play, will be different. Any alcoholic/addict can relate to this insanity - doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. My favourite part is the following exchange between a psychologist and Mahowny:
Psychologist: How would you rate the thrill you got gambling, on a scall of one to 100?
Mahowny: Um... hundred.
Psychologist: And what about the the biggest thrill you've had outside of gambling?
Mahowny: Twenty.
Psychologist: Can you live with that?
Mahowny (smiling): I can live with 20.
Day of Wine and Roses stars Jack Lemmon as a raging alcoholic. He meets and marries a lovely lady who, herself, becomes a raging alcoholic. While Lemmon is finally able to become sober through Alcoholics Anonymous (gotta love the black suits) his wife is not as fortunate. The best scene, and one I can relate to, is when Lemmon's character is going crazy trying to find a bottle of booze he hid. Lemmon displays the mental obsession part of the disease perfectly in this scene.
28 Days stars the lovely Sandra Bullock who checks into a 28 day treatment program after ruining her sisters' wedding during a bender. While not one of MY favourite movies every treatment centre I have worked at this flick has been the most watched and liked by a majority of residents. There are some good scenes and the storyline where Bullock's character has to give up her boyfriend, as he is toxic, is a reality that many people in recovery have to face.
Clean & Sober stars Michael Keaton as an alcoholic/addict who, at first, doesn't want to recover but checks himself into a treatment centre to hide from some people chasing him. He slowly learns more about the disease of addiction and more about himself. It's a brilliant performance by Keaton and one that, I feel, every person in recovery can relate to.
My Name is Bill W. stars James Woods as Bill Wilson and James Garner as Dr. Bob Smith. Bill Wilson and Bob Smith are the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, the first 12 Step Fellowship that spawned dozens of others since it's inception in 1935. Wilson was the first person to realize that by helping other alcoholics he could help himself to stay sober. Spader and Garner turn in great performances as well as Gary Senise who plays Ebby, the man who first told Wilson that he needed to find a Higher Power, of his own understanding, to get sober.
There are are two TV shows that give a true, in my humble opinion, depiction of alcoholism/addiction and 12 Step meetings. My fave is Mom starring Anna Faris and Allison Janey as a mother and daughter who are both in AA. In a humorous fashion Mom shows the damage to a family that addiction can do and how the meetings and Steps help alcoholics/addicts to recovery. The other TV show that gives a good depiction of how hard it is to remain sober is Nurse Jackie. This show stars Edie Falco as nurse hooked on pain killers and her struggles to maintain her addiction while trying to keep it together. I would recommend checking out both of these television shows.
Without getting into details I would also recommend the following movies: Crazy Heart; The Wrestler; Everything Must Go (Will Ferrell in a serious role); Gridlock'd; Leaving Las Vegas; Permanent Midnight (Ben Stiller in a serious role); Requiem for a Dream; When a Man Loves a Woman; You Kill Me.
Two flicks that I've heard great things about but have never been able to find are The Lost Weekend starring Ray Milland and The Morning After starring Dick Van Dyke.
I hope you enjoy the movies I have listed as much as I have.
Dave the Dude
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