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First Hit:  Scenes of this film are really good and reflective.

I can understand the lack of an audience for this film. People aren’t necessarily compelled to watch something that has such a stigma – yet it would be wise if people did.

Adam (Mark Ruffalo) is a recovering sex addict. Although he has 5 years of sobriety from sex, he’s still scared every day of what can happen if he acts out on his underlying desires. His sponsor, Mike (Tim Robbins), is encouraging him to consider dating and being open and honest in a full and engaged relationship.

Mike is an addict himself with multiple additions, or so we are led to believe and his steadfast guidance is honored in the weekly meetings. His wife Katie (Joely Richardson) has been through it all with him and she continues to be a supportive because she loves him.

To view the obsessiveness of this addition, the film uses Neil (Josh Gad) a doctor who rubs against people in the subway, tries to film up his bosses dress, watches porn films he’s made and on the internet. He is out of control and tries to BS his fellow AA meeting group about his sobriety.

The scenes in the meetings were good, and some were very good. The scenes of Neil falling to his obsessive behavior are tinged with Gad’s own humor, but also show to the lengths some go to, to not acknowledge their disease. Bringing Adam out and into the world of a sexual relationship is Phoebe (Gwyneth Paltrow). She has had a prior relationship with an addicted person (alcohol) and makes it clear she doesn’t want to be with someone who’s in a “program”.

When Adam honesty opens up this part of himself to Phoebe is a powerful part of this film. Then seeing Adam’s fall into past behavior was equally powerful. The film also shows how addictions affect family by sharing Mike’s son Danny (Patrick Fugit) own fight to sobriety although it is different than his father’s.

Ruffalo is really good and believable is presenting the constant vigilance he has to take and how easy it is to fall down again. Robbins is very good as the slightly self-righteous sponsor who has years and years of sobriety and his arrogant behavior leads him to being humble. Gad is great and willing to put obsessive behavior on film. Paltrow is beautiful, and carries her character in the ways many people share about addicted people. Fugit is good as the son who is attempting to make amends his own way. Pink as Dede, another addicted person, is wonderful and she brought a strong woman’s voice to the film. Stuart Blumberg and Matt Winston wrote a very good script and obviously did their homework. Blumberg’s direction was very good while some scenes were exceptionally strong.

Overall:  I really like this film because the closeness of addiction in me and my extended family’s life.

Jobs

First Hit:  Moments were very good, but it didn’t hold up as well as the man himself did.

There are moments when there are close-ups of Ashton Kutcher’s version of Steve Jobs that he looks exactly like Jobs, but where the film fails in my book, is completeness of character.

It seemed like we were given snippets and views of Jobs but not a real cohesive story. Example: When Jobs denies being Lisa’s father, how did we get her sleeping on the couch later on? Where was the story?

We are treated to some famous Jobs’ outbursts, but where do they come from? Where were the storylines behind them and Steve’s kindness? Where was the story as to why Steve didn’t give his original workers part of the stock action? Was it selfishness?

It is the lack of real developmental continuity that hurt this film. Why did the screenwriter and director only focus on the story of the start of Apple to Jobs coming back? It might have been more interesting to include more recent events as well. Lastly, at more than 2 hours, the lack of a deeper story made the movie feel long.

Kutcher got many of Jobs mannerisms down well. In fact some of the close-ups showed Kutcher did his homework regarding how Steve looked and walked. Dermot Mulroney as Mike Markkula was good at being the person who supported Steve from the beginning but turning against him later on. Josh Gad as Steve Wozniak was superb and was clearly the best actor in the film in their role. Matthew Modine as John Scully was OK, but again there seem to be a lack luster level of interest or “drama” to make it engaging. Lastly, where were the women in this film? Matt Whiteley wrote a weak script which focused on some less interesting aspects of Jobs’ life. Joshua Michael Stern seemed to lack direction and didn’t have a clear vision of what the point of this film was to be.

Overall:  As much as I wanted to see this film, was the same level it disappointed me.

Love and Other Drugs

First Hit: Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal have an on screen chemistry that works.

Even with many of the good lines already previewed in the trailers for this film, there are many more spoken by the actors as the film unfolds.

Maggie Murdock (played by Hathaway) is a young woman with 1st stage Parkinson’s disease. She takes a number of drugs to help her get by without most people seeing her symptoms. She is independent, strong and doesn’t want to be messed with.

Jamie Randall (Gyllenhaal) plays a smart unfocused guy who the ladies are drawn to and, in turn, he loves to bed them. While pretending to be an intern he watches an examination of Maggie. She finds out that he wasn’t an intern and lets him have it.

They find out they have a lot in common; a need to feel free from entanglements, they both like sex, and they have fun together. As with all setups like this, we know they are going to find out they really care about each other and are meant for each other.

The way this story goes about it is really fun and entertaining. It also gives the audience a glimpse of Parkinson’s disease. I would have enjoyed more of the scenes when Maggie goes to an “unconvention” of Parkinson’s patients. Their self-deprecating humor was wonderful and insightful.

However, as the film moved along I didn’t feel we know enough about Maggie, where her family was, what her life was like before the onset of Parkinson’s.

The film seemed to lack some character development. What also didn’t work for me was Josh Gad as Josh Randall, Jamie’s brother. I’m not sure why this character was needed throughout the film.

Hathaway was wonderful to watch and her beauty and openness was engaging. Gyllenhaal was perfect as the guy who can always find a way to get the girl. He carries that air about him that makes life a rollick. Gad was good as the nerdy younger brother, I just didn’t get why he was in the film so much. Oliver Platt as Bruce Winston, Jamie’s sales mentor was funny and on target as a sales motivator. Charles Randolph and Edward Zwick wrote a witty screenplay and Zwick did a very creditable job of directing this in a lighthearted yet thoughtful way.

Overall: This was a satisfying film to watch and it was great to see good screen chemistry at work.