When a Man Loves a Woman

I first saw this movie in the theater when it came out. I remember feeling frustrated. I watched it again last night on satellite and decided this really is a great movie, but it is hard to watch. It is a very real love story, but don't confuse that as meaning it is a typical romantic story.

Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia play a couple definitely in love, but struggling with their relationship after Meg Ryan's character comes back from detox. Instead of being cured, she is confused and they realize there is a wedge that comes from an experience they can't share. She has AA friends that her husband can't relate to, but she needs someone who can understand and her husband isn't it.

One mark of great writing is when the characters are not saintly or demonic, but shades of grey. Andy Garcia's character is a really nice guy, but he's not saintly. He resorts to sarcasm out of his frustration in not being able to help his wife. Of course, she doesn't want his help, she wants his understanding. She is basically a good person, but she can't sort through her feelings and ends up being unknowingly cruel to her husband.

After one scene, my wife stated, "Now HE frustrated me". I said, "I was frustrated too, but BY HER". This movie really pegs male and female relationships.

Superbly written, superbly acted. It hurts to watch it, but a movie that can evoke real emotion and not pander to the audience with contrived plot lines is a great movie. THIS is a great movie.

This movie has me in tears throughout; it portrays the mixed

feelings, emotions and total confusion of an alcoholic wife and

mother so perfectly - and I should recognize them, as an alcoholic

of 10 years myself. Especially moving is the wonderful

performance of the elder child "Jessie" - an amazing achievement

in one so young. It certainly strengthened my resolve never to go

down that path again. I recommend it to all families of alcoholics

for an insight into our way of thinking - our shame, our inability to

control our own addiction, and the possibilty of real recovery.

Thank you, all involved.

I saw this movie the first week when it came out and absolutely fell in love with it. My parents were alcoholics and seeing what the little girls had to go through is what made me cry so hard. I could see many reflections of my sister and I in Meg Ryan's daughters. Both her and Andy Garcia's performances were outstanding. I would recommend this movie if you have personally dealt with alcholism, or if you have been the victim of someone's abuse, because it helped me come to terms with some issues that I had been struggling with.

Michael Green (Andy Garcia) and his wife, Alice (Meg Ryan) are living the good life in San Francisco. They are both professionals, they live in a lovely home, and they have two beautiful daughters (Tina Majorino and Mae Whitman). But, they also have a secret. Alice is a "closet" alcoholic, who is on the verge of showing it to the world and Michael is doing his best to cover for her to everyone. Things are complicated, for Alice seems happier when she is in the "party mood" and Michael loves her so much that he actually appears to relish his role as the one Alice calls on to put herself back together. Yet, even a vacation to Mexico does not help Alice find the self-happiness she needs to lose the bottle. Also, Alice injures herself at home, scaring the girls beyond measure and they are suffering from neglect, too. Therefore, Alice has to enter a "Betty Ford" type clinic. But, will Michael and Alice both like and love each other when Alice is sober? This is a great movie for its honest portrayal of the effects an alcoholic has on the family he or she loves and on the long climb out of the world of alcoholism. Alice and Michael are not really living the American dream but the American nightmare, because of Alice's need for one drink after another. Both Ryan and Garcia are truly wonderful in roles that call upon them to be both lovable and repugnant, at the same time. The other cast members, including Ellen Burstyn and the two lovely little girl-actresses, are also just perfect. Naturally, the settings in San Fran and Mexico are great, especially the Green's beautiful old house. Costumes, too, are very well-chosen and all other other productions values of direction, photography and story are most worthy, too. Then, too, the film also has great value as a movie to show the realities of alcoholism to any audience that could benefit from such a view. In summary, if you are a man or woman who loves movies that tell a tale well, with gorgeous stars, even if it might result in a few shed tears, this is a great choice. You might even pop it in when you need a "good cry", for it has wonderful cathartic elements.

Simply put, When A Man Loves A Woman is the best story about family in America since Ordinary People and Shoot The Moon. If that sounds a bit overblown -- too bad, because it's true. As a self professed fan of foreign films, this film manages to take an honest look at alcoholism and relationships rarely seen in American films. The actors inhabit a whole life here -- they feel like a real family with entire past lives. Every actor hits the right tone -- Meg Ryan is commanding, Andy Garcia simply takes his time, as does Tina Majorino, who gives a performance alongside Haley Joel Osment's in The Sixth Sense. Another rare take the script accomplishes (with Garcia's considerable help)is conveying Michael's emotional life and struggles with loving his wife in an expected - a layer also unseen in American films. This story asks uneasy questions and dosen't always profess to know the answers -- and sometimes, that's all we have.