Clean and Sober

Clean and Sober is a sobering drama about the tragedies of addiction. Michael Keaton is Daryl Poynter, a fast-talking washed up real estate who finds an acquaintance in his bed, dead from a cocaine overdose, and himself facing real criminal sanctions after money goes missing. As a drug and alcohol addict, though refusing to admit it, he checks himself into a rehab clinic only to avoid his employers who are looking for the missing money and cops who want to interrogate him about the dead girl. For Daryl, rehab is only a safehouse, not a reality. He doesn't face the fact that he has real problems and needs real help to get back on his feet. Things are whirling too quickly out of control for him to keep up on the outside and his experiences in the clinic are his own, sobering experience.

The clinic is overseen by a former addict, Craig (Morgan Freeman), who is Daryl's counselor who can only help Daryl when Daryl helps himself. Craig tires playing games with Daryl, who has no interest in cleaning up, but only hiding out, and even faces getting kicked out.

Daryl finally wakes up largely due to interactions with fellow residents in the clinic, each having their own horror story about how their addictions tore apart their lives in one way or another, putting them in debt, neglecting their families, neglecting their health and so forth. Daryl slowly starts to witness the reality and stops considering everything to be a big joke. These are real people with real problems, and he's one of them. He even goes so far to try to help someone else recover from the pitfalls of their addictions, befriending Charlie Standers (Kathy Baker), who still lives with an abusive, junkie boyfriend. Unfortunately, for her, she is beyond saving, and her helplessness leads to her own destruction.

After watching Clean and Sober, you can see similarities between the stories as well as the characters among this film, the Sandra Bullock comedy, 28 Days, and the Angelina Jolie drama, Girl Interrupted. It is a powerful, though sad, drama and one well performed by all involved. And, it is, as a previous viewer wrote, "an honest look at real people."

Clean and Sober is not a "feel good" movie. It doesn't have Improbably beautiful actors going through the stereotypical and cliche motions seen in other films about addiction. Michael Keaton is astonishingly believable as a smooth talking drug addict whose talents for manipulating others is surpassed only by his own self deception. Keaton's performance resonates as a man fueled purely by need. The essence of addiction is viscerally on display as he desperately tries to mitigate the trouble in which he now finds himself. The walls are closing in all around him and we feel not only his desperation, but also his inability to recognize it as such. Morgan Freeman is in top form as usual in an early performance in his film career. A former addict now sober and working in a rehab he has a proud weariness to him. A kind man but also one who knows Keaton's number and isn't afraid to tell him as much. But ultimately this is Keaton's movie...a testament to the greatness of his performance. The supporting cast is very genuine and their stories are tragically believable. M. Emmet Walsh in particular stands out as a success story for a recovering addict. He has no problem admitting that putting down one addiction sometimes requires picking up another, albeit much less harmful The story itself is familiar enough. Keaton is a business man in a lot of trouble for a lot of reasons. Drug rehab is seen as sanctuary; a place to lay low while he frantically tries to fix the problems he has created. Getting sober is not a straight line for anyone. Keaton's journey is one that at he doesn't always know he is making, Luck, timing, fate, and tragedy all play a part in keeping himself and drugs separated. Clean and Sober really is a fine film and all too often overlooked. It's not cute and it doesn't let us off the hook. But it's that uncompromising honesty that makes it so incredibly moving. Life can be cruel. We can lose ourselves but also muster the strength to find ourselves again. Sometimes we have to prematurely say goodbye to those we love. But through sorrow strength can also be found. Strength to carry on even when surrender seems so seductive. Clean and Sober hits some very powerful notes. We should always dare to hope for a better day. In the end key words are spoken by Keaton that perfectly encapsulate his situation. A sense of defiant optimism in the face of great difficulty is the fuel that helps us achieve new heights. And from there, to go ahead and reach a little higher.

I have been in AA for 21 years. Over that time there have been many films I've seen that try to capture the alcoholic's fight with the disease. Clean and Sober is on the money. Though a minor error here and there, if you want to see and feel the travail, see Clean And Sober. Magnificent performances, by the way.

Michael Keaton is fantastic in "Clean and Sober". What a great performance. The film itself is a fairly good analysis of the drug rehab process--the process of denial to acceptance. The first half of the film is particularly good, but it gets a bit uneven toward the latter half when it strays from its original premise into a romantic entanglement. All in all, Keaton really delivers in this one--Daryl is at times pathetic, funny, sympathetic, and just a plain sleaze. However, "Clean and Sober" shows quite well what lengths the addict will go to, and the "multiple personalities" he will take on, in order to get that next snort or the next drink.

CLEAN AND SOBER (1988) ***1/2 Michael Keaton, Kathy Baker, Morgan Freeman, M. Emmett Walsh, Tate Donovan, Claudia Christian, Brian Benben. Keaton gives a tour de force performance as chemical addict businessman facing big troubles and decides to cool off in a detox/rehab center run by a no-nonsense counselor (excellent Foreman). Great acting and tight, realistic direction from Glenn Gordon Caron (creator of tv's "Moonlighting" in this his feature film debut) and Baker's scenes with Keaton recall the desperation of Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick in "The Days of Wine and Roses". Watch Keaton's modulated reaction on learning of a tragic event. Heart-wrenching at times.