Jim (Richard Lewis) attends an AA meeting very worried about something. His sponsor encourages him to talk. He does...and immediately leaves. The rest of the movie involves him trying not to drink and it keeps going back to the meeting where we, one by one, hear each member say why they're there.I caught this at a small art cinema way back in 1997 and I never forgot it. It perfectly captures what an AA meeting is like and the stories related are harrowing. Quite a few well known actors play members: Sam Rockwell (still unknown at the time), Amanda Plummer, Parker Posey, Dianne Wiest, Calista Flockheart and Faye Dunaway. Their considerable acting talents make the stories seem realistic and hard to shake off. There's no happy endings here. Grim and disturbing but realistic. Sometime the staginess shows through (you can tell this was based on a play) which is why I can only give it an 8. Still, it's well worth watching.

"Drunks" deserves a better wide release than it received in the early 90's. It's not an easy film to digest, but if "Six Feet Under" can make us look at mortality, death, and grieving a little easier, than this film can help others see this disease a little more clearly.Hollywood has portrayed drunks as lovable figures, whether it be W.C. Fields' characters to "Barfly" (was Bukowski ever truly happy, though, or was Rourke's characterization just an acceptance of a barfly's life? Yet, we all know people who have gone from social drinker to lost in themselves."Once Were Warriors." The great "The Lost Weekend." "Reqiuem for a Dream." "Nil by Mouth." "Under the Volcano." Leaving Las Vegas." "Less Than Zero." Thousands of lives have been damaged by alcoholism, and if you ever want to see a real tragedy, look at the people on these screens and, if you see yourself, you might be in real trouble.Back to the film. Basically, this a film of monologues, yet each contains more power than you might think when you hear the word "monologue." Lewis' performance is of course, great, as the reviews say, but please read his autobiography to discover how far he was from becoming Jim. It is a must-read for any addict, and while not an addict, it has helped me personally with some of my problems. Another great performances include the late Howard Rollins, of TV's "In the Heat of the Night" fame, who also was an addict at various points in his life. Splading Gray, a brilliant actor who committed suicide due to depression, also gives a brilliant performance as a man who wanders upon the meeting, and realizes he is one of them. A young Calista Flockhart and Faye Dunway find the right notes as addicts who need to sponsor each other. Even performances from Lisa Gay Hamilton (TV's "The Pratice")as an HIV positive woman, are damn strong.That's the key to the film. There may be no happy endings, but there is no preaching, and no sermonizing. Please, I urge you to seek this one out if you ever wonder what a real AA meeting is about, and get it more accessible to your friends who might need it to see it ... or yourself. It's not preachy, but it's a good drama.I'm off my soapbox: Please see this as drama. And remember if you need help, there is always someone there, don't give up. And hopefully, this film, will help you see that even the most self-destructive person can survive.

I had wanted to see this when it came out, but it was playing, I think, in one theater in NYC, for a week, and then it was gone. I am a tremendous fan of most of the actors in this film. I finally got to rent it this week, more than 5 years after it was released. The film is ok, the actors are very good. It isn't preachy at all, but it's still got some problems. Each actor gets to say about a sentence before the camera moves on to the next character. We learn nothing about anyone except for Louis' character, and his plot and personality aren't interesting enough to hold viewers' attentions for 90 minutes. What bothers me most is that there was no point to the film: They meet at an AA meeting, talk about their lives, realize it's tough to kick the habit. I just wish it had been more complex. And the great ensemble cast hardly gets to interact with one another. But, on the plus side, this is your once in a lifetime chance to see these actors in the same film.

An inside peek at the goings-on of an unusually attractive Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Richard Lewis's character exists to provide a moral center for the film as it examines his desperate efforts to stay sober. The various members of the AA group provide different glimpses at what contributes to alcoholism and demonstrate that there is no one profile for what constitutes a "drunk."There are very nice performances in this film, particularly those of a pre-Ally McBeal Calista Flockhart and Parker Posey. The film's scene stealer and the most memorable drunk of all, however, is monologuist Spalding Grey, doing a hilarious turn as a church choir member who shows up at the wrong church. In the midst of explaining his blunder to the group he rhapsodizes brilliantly on the importance of Guinness in his life and discovers quietly that gee, maybe he too has a drinking problem.Overall the individual performances divert attention from the main storyline and provide more of a center for the film than Lewis, whose story is ultimately uninteresting. But check it out for Spalding Grey, who is probably the most natural actor in the film and a true pleasure to watch.