Alcohol, Drinking & Recovery on Film

Bette Midler plays a Janis Joplin-like singer overwhelmed by booze-soaked stardom and its many excesses. Mark Rydell (On Golden Pond) directs this compelling showcase for Midler's concert talents and a pop biopic, with the enthralling rhythms of desire, success, betrayal and failure. More...

After a series of setbacks, Michael Keaton's character seeks refuge in a rehab program and must confront the truth of his own addiction at the urging of a counselor (Morgan Freeman) who's heard every lame excuse in the book from addicts struggling to quit. Delicate material handled with consummate skill and grace. More...

The performances are dazzling in this remarkable character study about the members of a alcohol addiction recovery group. Featuring Richard Lewis as he moves through one soul-searching night. Also with Dianne Wiest, Faye Dunaway, Parker Posey, Calista Flockhart & Amanda Plummer. More...

A gender-switch on The Lost Weekend, it's about a woman (Meg Ryan) whose alcoholism almost destroys her family. An honest look at what happens after an alcoholic stops drinking and begins to tackle everyday life. So authentic in detail and emotion, that everything about it seems fresh, urgent, and engrossing. More...

Sandra Bullock plays an alcoholic in denial whose latest bender with her boozer boyfriend ruins a wedding, landing her in rehab with a gang of struggling drunks and junkies. Alan Tudyk steals scenes as a gay German rehabber who might've dropped in from a Berlin performance-art exhibit. The plot of a drama, the soul of a comedy, and the feel of a documentary all mix in this wonderful movie. More...

A critically acclaimed, dead-on picture of alcoholism and hitting rock bottom. Nicolas Cage, in an Oscar-winning performance, is a former movie exec who's lost his family in a sea of alcoholic self-destruction. He's come to Las Vegas literally to drink himself to death. But he meets a prostitute and they fall in love - despite their mutual dead-end existence. A very beautiful and well-done film. More...

Downtrodden writer Henry (Mickey Rourke) and distressed goddess Wanda (Faye Dunaway) aren't exactly husband and wife: they're wedded to their bar stools. But they like each other's company - and 'Barfly' captures their giddy, din-soaked attempts to make a go of life on the skids. More...

A stimulating, accurate, 43 minute, live-action presentation of how the human brain is affected by alcohol. Clearly explained is why drinking alcohol is pleasurable, how field sobriety tests work, how drinking styles affect blood alcohol levels, and why driving skills become impaired. Live demonstrations, cutting-edge 3D animation, and original music collaborate to enhance the effectiveness of this highly recommended informational video. More...

The story of Bill Wilson, the overreaching businessman from the Roaring '20s who went on to found Alcoholics Anonymous. Follow Bill's headlong slide to the bottom, through the Wall Street crash and into the loss of everything he holds dear. Woods is convincing as the man who understands just how insidious his disease is and learns to take everything one day at a time. More...

Paul Newman plays the alcoholic closet-case, ex-football-player husband, whose homo-erotic devotion to his deceased best friend drives him to drink. His use of booze to drown his emotions is an all-too familiar path down the steps toward alcoholism and personal destruction. As his wife, Elizabeth Taylor has never been sexier, prowling around her boudoir in a slinky white slip. A must-see for every gay alcoholic who has ever used booze to keep the closet door shut. More...

Susan Hayward stars in this biography of Lillian Roth, a talented singer pushed into the spotlight by her stage mother, and when she is unable to deal with her insecurities and the tragedies in her life, she turns to alcohol. Hayward goes from glamour to degradation, with a very realistic portrayal of Roth's descent into alcoholism. This movie classic is a fitting tribute to Roth and to the fine work done at Alcoholics Anonymous. More...

This early movie depiction of alcoholism was also among the first to present its sufferers as real people with souls and some dignity, and it remains a timeless and relevant movie. Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick received Oscar nominations for their roles as the alcoholic couple who find that life is not always fun when viewed through rosé-colored glasses. Ingeniously, this film not only is about alcoholism, it is also about recovery, and that both are told earns this movie classic status. More...

"I'm not a drinker--I'm a drunk." These words, and the serious message behind them, were still potent enough in 1945 to shock audiences. The speaker is Ray Milland, cast as a handsome, talented, articulate alcoholic who tries to stay dry, but eventually the demons of his alcoholism catch up with him. The result is a massive weekend alcoholic bender, a tailspin that finds him reeling from his favorite watering hole to Bellevue Hospital. Winner of 4 Oscars. More...